The electromagnetic properties and microwave absorbing performance of titanium carbide attached single-walled carbon nanotubes

The titanium carbide nanoparticles attached single-walled carbon nanotubes (TiC-SWCNTs) were mass-produced by an argon–hydrogen direct current arc discharge method using TiO2 and Fe added carbon rod as anode. The composites of TiC-SWCNTs in the paraffin matrix were investigated in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz by a vector network analyzer. The electromagnetic (EM) parameter and reflection loss (RL) properties were simulated by transmission line theory and the microwave absorption mechanisms for the dielectric loss and magnetic loss were discussed in detail. The results indicate that the TiC-SWCNTs prepared by 4 at.% TiO2 added anode exhibited the best microwave absorption property due to better impedance matching, whose RL value reached − 45.6 dB at 14.2 GHz and the absorption bandwidth below − 10 dB was up to 5.7 GHz. Furthermore, the matching thickness of the absorber is 1.8 mm and the filler loading of TiC-SWCNTs in the matrix is 20 wt%. It is expected that the TiC attached SWCNTs nanocomposite will be an excellent candidate for microwave absorption and provide a new idea to prepare weak magnetic EM wave absorber.