Novel ultra-thin ZnO nanosheets on carbon fiber: Preparation, characterization, and microwave absorption properties

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been believed to be one of the most important classes of materials due to their plentiful unusual properties. In this work, novel ultra-thin ZnO nanosheets with curled edges were prepared by facile electrodeposition by using carbon fibers (CFs) as the cathode. The morphology and structure of the ZnO nanosheets were characterized by SEM, TEM, and XRD, and the complex permittivity and permeability of the ZnO/CF/paraffin composite were measured over a frequency range of 1–18 GHz. Results revealed that ZnO nanosheets with a lateral size of 50–200 nm and a thickness of several nanometers were uniformly coated on the surface of CFs without apparent aggregation and that ZnO had a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. Furthermore, the ZnO/CF/paraffin composite containing 30 wt.% ZnO exhibited excellent microwave absorption properties with the strong absorption (RL < − 20 dB) in the frequency range of 10.1–16.9 GHz and a second RL peak (RL = − 22.7 dB) at 16.6 GHz.