Fire-retardant and thermal insulating honeycomb-like NiS2/SnS2 nanosheets @ 3D porous carbon hybrids for high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorption

Abstract Searching for electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers with high-efficient absorption and multi-functionalization is very eager to satisfy modern society’s technical requirements. Inspired by nature, popcorn-derived honeycomb-like NiS2/SnS2 nanosheets @ 3D porous carbon hybrids (PC-NSS) were fabricated through hydrothermal and carbonization methods. As multifunctional electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) materials, PC-NSS exhibited preeminent infrared stealth property, thermal insulation capability and flame retardance. By adjusting the carbonization temperatures, an excellent EMA performance with a reflection loss (RL) of −52.97 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.8 GHz at 1.57 mm was assigned to PC-NSS. The outstanding EMA performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of impedance matching, conduction loss, polarization loss, and multiple reflections. The multi-functionality of the thermal insulation capability, the flame retardance, and the EMA performance in PC-NSS hybrids guarantee their practical stealth application in harsh environments. Therefore, this work sheds light on the rational design and fabrication of multifunctional EMW absorption materials for practical applications.