Obtaining Strong, Broadband Microwave Absorption of Polyaniline Through Data‐Driven Materials Discovery

Abstract

materials development methods do not guarantee results. Yet, the continued development of microwave absorbing materials is imperative. These materials are highly utilized in the defense [16-22] and telecommunications industries, [18,23-27] as means for reducing radar cross sections for stealth technology, [28,29] and providing electromagnetic interference shielding for the information processing and transport capabilities in electronic devices. The progression of research and development in the field of MAMs continues to accelerate, and researchers are in need of new methods for materials development and analysis. One of the most common components integrated into materials systems for microwave absorption is polyaniline. [30-36] This polymer, particularly the protonated Emeraldine Salt variation due to its high conductivity, is a popular material for MAM research and development due the strong dielectric response it demonstrates when irradiated with GHz-range electromagnetic energy. [15] For example, Liu et al. embedded a graphene-polyaniline matrix with nickel ferrite in an attempt to synergistically couple the magnetic properties of the ferrite with the dielectric nature of the matrix. This coupling resulted in a strong microwave interaction and reflection loss of −50.5 dB at 12.5 GHz, with an effective bandwidth of 5.3 GHz. [30] Wang et al. took a similar approach, imbedding a nickel-zinc ferrite into a polyaniline matrix, with a similar goal of coupling the strong dielectric action of the polyaniline material with a magnetic material. The maximal reflection loss realized by these efforts was −41 dB at 12.8 GHz and a 5 GHz effective bandwidth with a material thickness of 2.6 mm. [31] In this study, we demonstrate for the first time a data-driven process for optimizing the microwave absorbing properties of polyaniline. The final reflection loss is maximally reported as −88.54 dB with (f, d) coordinates of (7.0 GHz, 3.8 mm) 5.5 GHz with a 2.1 mm thickness. These results are record-setting for polyaniline-based materials, and the methods used to achieve these experimentally-validated results are thought to be scalable and applicable to the type of research methodologies prevalent in MAM development. As such, this type of data-driven optimization has the potential to revolutionize materials R&D for microwave absorption. The polyaniline materials were synthesized according to standard literature procedures [37] and characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and Microwave absorbing materials (MAMs) are highly utilized in the defense and telecommunications industries, as means for reducing radar cross sections for stealth technology, and providing electromagnetic interference shielding for the information processing and transport capabilities in electronic devices. Polyaniline materials have attracted enormous attention in the field of MAM development due to their strong dielectric properties. In this manuscript, the strong dielectric action of polyaniline is utilized to demonstrate...

Data‐driven methodology to realize strong and broadband microwave absorption properties of polymer‐fly ash cenosphere composite

“…The microwave absorption characteristics of polymer composites is strongly depend on filler loading to the polymer and, as discussed, it was reported for FAC based composite high wt% loading of FAC hybrid can results in practically required RL value (RL ≤ −10 dB) 24,25 . Modern computational technology leverages the researchers to expand the capability of strong microwave absorption performance of materials through materials data‐driven discovery in an unimaginable way 31 . With the help of data‐driven methods, the material response can be predicted, and it can be done in a manner that reduces experimental run time and optimal content of the constituents such as optimal filler loading in polymer composite for microwave absorption 31,32 .…”

“…Modern computational technology leverages the researchers to expand the capability of strong microwave absorption performance of materials through materials data‐driven discovery in an unimaginable way 31 . With the help of data‐driven methods, the material response can be predicted, and it can be done in a manner that reduces experimental run time and optimal content of the constituents such as optimal filler loading in polymer composite for microwave absorption 31,32 . In other words, with an EM data‐driven approach, it is possible to realize the best microwave absorption performance of a polymer composite with in‐depth study 31,32 .…”

Tuning Dielectric Loss of SiO2@CNTs for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

“…Thus, the SiO2@Fe3C/Fe@NCNT-GT showed a significantly enhanced EMW absorption property in the main parameters, including RL, min, EAB10 and d values, showing it has potential applications in practical EMW absorption. In addition, our prepared SiO2@Fe3C/Fe@NCNT-GT had comparable, or better, EMW absorption performance than reported carbon nanotube-based absorbent materials (Figure 5c, Table S2) [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. The Mz-f plot reveals that the SiO2@Fe3C/Fe@NCNT-GT had better impedance matching characteristics compared to the SiO2@Fe3C/Fe@NCNT (Figure S9).…”

FeCo/ZnO Composite Nanofibers for Broadband and High Efficiency Microwave Absorption

“…According to the transmission line theory, [ 19 ] the reflection loss (RL) values of the FeCo/ZnO NFs‐silicone rubber composite are calculated from the measured complex permittivity and permeability at a given frequency and absorber thickness, as illustrated in Figure a,b. An optimal RL value of −83.4 dB is achieved at 12.8 GHz together with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL < −10 dB) of 8 GHz (10.0–18 GHz) at a small matching thickness of 1.3 mm.…”