SiC Nanofiber Mat: A Broad-Band Microwave Absorber, and the Alignment Effect

Fiber alignment is a key factor that determines the physical properties of nanofiber mats. In this work, SiC nanofiber mats with or without fiber alignment are fabricated via electrospinning and the microwave electromagnetic properties of their silicone resin composites (5 wt %) are investigated in 2-18 GHz. By comparing with the composite containing SiC whisker, it is found that the nanofiber mats show superior dielectric loss and a minimal reflection loss (RL) of around -49 dB at 8.6 GHz and 4.3 mm thickness, associated with a broad effective absorption (<-10 dB) bandwidth (EAB) of about 7.2 GHz at 2.8 mm thickness. Moreover, the performance can be further enhanced (RL = -53 dB at 17.6 GHz and 2.3 mm thickness) by aligning the nanofiber in the plane of mat, accompanied by the shift of absorption peak to higher-frequency direction and broader EAB up to 8.6 GHz at 3 mm. In addition, the stacking ways of aligned SiC nanofiber mats (either parallel or perpendicular) are proved to have a negligible effect on their microwave properties. Compared with parallel stacking of the aligned mats, cross-stacking (perpendicular) only leads to a slight drop of the attenuation ability. It confirms that alignment of nanofiber in the mats offers a more effective approach to improve the microwave absorption properties than changing the ways of stacking. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the low loading fraction (5 wt %) is a great advantage to reduce the weight as well as the cost for large-scale production. All of these facts indicate that the aligned SiC nanofiber mats can serve as a great lightweight and broad-band microwave absorber.