Enoki-like carbon nanotubes coated with in situ growing nickel particles for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption

With the increasingly serious electromagnetic pollution, the urgent demands for electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) materials are gradually developing towards performance integration and multi-dimensional scales. Herein, the enoki-like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated with nickel particles (CNT@Ni) were synthesized by a catalytic thermal decomposition method. The resulting CNT@Ni composites exhibited excellent EMWA performances with a minimum reflection loss value of − 60.4 dB at a thickness of 2.97 mm. It benefited from the synergy of collaborative electrical and magnetic losses and hierarchical structure. The conductive pathways formed by the intertwined CNTs greatly improved the EMWA capacity of the material, enabling large amounts of electromagnetic waves to enter the material for conversion and dissipation. In addition, the inherent graphite defects and oxygen-containing groups formed on the material surface during the process of high-temperature treatment provided polarization centers for dipole polarizations. More importantly, the abundant heterogeneous interfaces enhanced the interface loss effects of the material. This simple preparation strategy of the CNT-based EMWA material will provide a design inspiration for the novel electromagnetic absorber.