Platan seeds-derived PSC/Ni/Co composite with multi-morphologies as tunable microwave absorber

Biomass and its derived carbon materials, due to their glorious application value in the field of microwave absorption, have sparked a new round of research boom. Hereinto, platan seeds-derived carbon-based materials (PSC), offspring from direct carbonization of platan seeds, were ulteriorly processed and subjected to high-temperature carbonization treatment to synthesis PSC/Ni/Co composite with diversified morphology and tunable microwave absorption performance. The effect of nickel and cobalt ion concentrations on the absorption performance of composite materials was investigated in depth. The optimum reflection loss value (RL_min) of PSC/Ni can reach −47.36 dB, while its effective absorption broadband (EAB) is 5.8 GHz, ranging from 12–17.8 GHz, covering almost the whole Ku band. Compared with PSC/Ni composites, PSC/Co fulfils greater advantages in thickness and bandwidth. As for PSC/Ni/Co, the sample exhibits the optimal performance when Ni and Co ions are at equal concentrations, with an RL_min of −48.3 dB and an EAB of 5 GHz (13–18 GHz), which congealed the edges of both. Unequivocally, the morphological polymorphism of carbon-based-derived microwave absorbing materials with platan seeds as the carbon source is crucial to harvset lightweight, efficient and adjustable absorption properties, let alone its relatively simple and feasible preparation method. This may provide a new approach for engineering light-weight, cost effective and eco-friendly absorbing materials.