Progress in microwave absorbing materials: A critical review

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electromagnetics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Microwave-absorbing materials are crucial for attenuating electromagnetic radiation in diverse applications.
• Understanding material-electromagnetic interactions, including reflections, scattering, and polarization, is key to absorber design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of advancements in microwave-absorbing materials.
• To analyze various loss mechanisms (dielectric, conduction, relaxation, magnetic, morphological) affecting absorber performance.
• To review a wide range of microwave absorbing materials and their properties.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of microwave-absorbing materials and their performance.
• Analysis of electromagnetic wave interaction phenomena with absorbing materials.
• Categorization and examination of different material types, including traditional and emerging options.

Main Results:

• Detailed examination of carbonaceous materials, conducting polymers, magnetic materials, metals, 2D materials (MXenes, TMDs), biomass, carbides, sulfides, phosphides, high entropy (HE) materials, and metamaterials.
• Evaluation of the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of each material category.
• Identification of key loss mechanisms influencing microwave absorption efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Significant progress has been made in developing effective microwave-absorbing materials.
• Optimizing various loss mechanisms is essential for enhancing absorber performance.
• Emerging materials like 2D materials and HE materials show great promise for future advancements in microwave absorption technology.