Cross-Dimensional SiC Nanowire/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheet Composites for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

The design of hierarchical architectures is critical for developing lightweight, high-performance materials for electromagnetic applications. Herein, a cross-dimensional heterostructure strategy is proposed, wherein one-dimensional silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires are directionally grown within two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layers via an interlayer confined growth process. This method enables precise spatial control and intimate interfacial integration, forming a 2D/1D hybrid network that couples the conductivity and flexibility of rGO with the anisotropic dielectric behavior of SiC. The resulting SiC/rGO composites (GSF series) exhibit a unique hierarchical structure with vertically aligned nanowires anchored within rGO layers, forming continuous conductive pathways and dense interfacial junctions. Comprehensive characterizations and first-principles calculations reveal that structural defects in rGO act as nucleation centers and promote interfacial polarization, while the confined growth ensures nanoscale control over orientation and dispersion. Notably, the optimized composite (GSF-0.8) achieves a minimum reflection loss of −67.46 dB at 8.56 GHz and an effective absorption bandwidth of 4.06 GHz at a thickness of just 2.8 mm. This structural paradigm not only addresses challenges in impedance matching and energy dissipation but also establishes a versatile platform for designing next-generation multifunctional nanocomposites.