Coal tar pitch-based hyper-crosslinked polymers derived porous carbon for electromagnetic wave absorption
image: Porous carbon materials with good microwave absorption properties were prepared by Friedel-Crafts reaction and high-temperature carbonization using inexpensive coal tar pitch as carbon source. Porous carbon microwave absorption materials showed great potential for practical applications and provided a new method for the high-value utilization of coal tar pitch.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
Porous carbon (PC) materials have unique structures and excellent physicochemical properties, which offer significant advantages in the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials. However, how to utilize available raw materials and practical preparation techniques is a major challenge for PC microwave absorption materials to achieve engineering applications.
The “Green and Functional Polymer Innovation Team” led by Luke Yan from Chang’an University selected coal tar pitch (CTP), a byproduct of coal tar distillation, as the raw material. Through the Friedel-Crafts reaction and carbonization process, they successfully prepared porous carbon materials with excellent electromagnetic wave properties.
The research team systematically studied the effects of cross-linker type (CH₂Cl₂, CHCl₃, and CCl₄) and carbonization temperature (600℃, 700℃, and 800℃) on the microstructure, crystallization, dielectric, and microwave absorption properties of PC materials. After modulation and optimization, all CTP-based PCs have uniform pore structure with a maximum specific surface area of 533.93 m2/g. The PC with CHCl3 as cross-linking agent carbonized at 700℃ showed the exceptional microwave absorption performance, with the minimum refection loss (RLmin) of −43.08 dB and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 5.44 GHz. Meanwhile, the RLmin of CCl4-PC-800 also achieved −47.28 dB. Luke Yan said: “This study has developed a simple and low-cost method for preparing PC microwave absorption materials, which has the potential to enable the mass production and engineering application of PCs, as well as facilitating processing technology innovation and high value-added utilization of CTP.”
Other contributors include Chunjia Luo, Yaofeng Wu, Geqing Zhang, Xi Chen and Min Chao from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, Xi’an, China.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22005039), the Innovation Capability Support Program of Shaanxi (2023-CX-TD-43) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, CHD (300102313208, 300102312403 and 300102314401).
About the Authors
Yan Luke (1979 -): male, from Fufeng, Shaanxi Province; Ph. D. of Material Science, Professor; Doctor Tutor; Director of Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering in Chang’an University; Young Academic Leader; Visiting Scholar of Leibniz Polymer Research Institute, Dresden, Germany. He is expert in the design, preparation, modification and application of green and functional polymer, separation membranes, traffic functional materials, special engineering plastics and polymer composites, as well as green recycling and high-value utilization of waste plastics. For more information, visit his research homepage: https://js.chd.edu.cn/clkxygcxy/ylk/list.htm.
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.