Core–Shell Composites Made of Polystyrene Microspheres@Polydopamine@MXene for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption
Mi Tang, Xin Yang, Ziyang Liu, Wenjing Tang, Xiaolan Lin, Shaohui Huang, Tong Zhu, Pingan Liu, LinGe WangAbstract
The rapid advancement of electronic information technology has intensified concerns regarding electromagnetic radiation pollution, thereby increasing the demand for lightweight, broadband, and effective microwave absorbers. In this study, polystyrene microspheres (PSM) were used as the core matrix, modified with polydopamine (PDA) on the surface, and subsequently self-assembled with MXene nanosheets to construct a core–shell structure. The resulting PSM@PDA@MXene (PPM) composites were systematically evaluated for their wave absorption performance by varying the MXene content and loading ratio, and the underlying absorption mechanisms were thoroughly investigated. Remarkably, at an MXene mass fraction of 10 wt %, the material exhibits a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −48.03 dB at 17.44 GHz at a thickness of 1.5 mm, and achieves an effective absorption bandwidth (RL ≤ −10 dB) of 4.78 GHz at a thickness of 1.7 mm. This work provides valuable insights and a theoretical foundation for developing MXene-based microwave absorbers through interface engineering and structural design.