Multi-Scale Design of Ultra-Broadband Microwave Metamaterial Absorber Based on Hollow Carbon/MXene/Mo₂ C Microtube

Developing various nanocomposite microwave absorbers is a crucial means to address the issue of electromagnetic pollution, but remains a challenge in satisfying broadband absorption at low thickness with dielectric loss materials. Herein, an ultra-broadband microwave metamaterial absorber (MMA) based on hollow carbon/MXene/Mo₂ C (HCMM) is fabricated by a multi-scale design strategy. The microscopic 1D hierarchical microtube structure of HCMM contributes to break through the limit of thickness, exhibiting a strong reflection loss of -66.30 dB (99.99997 wave absorption) at the thinnest matching thickness of 1.0 mm. Meanwhile, the strongest reflection loss of -87.28 dB is reached at 1.4 mm, superior to most MXene-based and Mo₂ C-based microwave absorbers. Then, the macroscopic 3D structural metasurface based on the HCMM is simulated, optimized, and finally manufactured. The as-prepared flexible HCMM-based MMA realizes an ultra-broadband effective absorption in the range of 3.7-40.0 GHz at a thickness of 5.0 mm, revealing its potential for practical application in the electromagnetic compatibility field.