Metal-free MWCNT and sugarcane bagasse composites: sustainable solutions for enhanced X-band microwave absorption

IF 2.5 4区工程技术 Q3 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

Journal of Computational Electronics Pub Date : 2025-06-13 DOI:10.1007/s10825-025-02362-x

Hitender Gupta, Rajesh Khanna, Mayank Kumar Rai

{"title":"Metal-free MWCNT and sugarcane bagasse composites: sustainable solutions for enhanced X-band microwave absorption","authors":"Hitender Gupta, Rajesh Khanna, Mayank Kumar Rai","doi":"10.1007/s10825-025-02362-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The design of the cost-effective, eco-friendly and sustainable microwave absorbers is still difficult due to material’s properties limitation. This work bridges this gap by developing a microwave absorber using sugarcane bagasse (SB), an agriculture waste (environmentally friendly) mixed with metal-free multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Five samples (SB, SBCNT-1, SBCNT-2, SBCNT-3, and SBCNT-5) of 4 mm thickness are prepared with varying MWCNT loadings (0–5 wt%) and tested for the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). Dielectric properties are analyzed via the coaxial transmission line technique, while reflection loss (RLmin) is measured using a free-space system. The dielectric constant and loss factor of the samples are improved by 32% and 84% by increasing the loading percentage of MWCNTs from (0 to 5 wt %) into SB. Pure SB exhibited a 1.84 GHz absorption bandwidth with RLmin = − 14.64 dB at 11.8 GHz. Adding 1 wt.% MWCNTs (SBCNT-1) improved RLmin to − 19.91 dB at 10.92 GHz (99.99% absorption) and effective absorption bandwidth to 2.45 GHz. Higher MWCNT loadings further increased bandwidth: SBCNT-2 (3.3 GHz, 78% X-band coverage) and SBCNT-3 (3.9 GHz, 92% coverage), representing a 112% improvement over SB. However, SBCNT-5 showed reduced bandwidth (2.7 GHz), attributed to surpassing the percolation threshold, where excessive conductivity promotes reflection. The tunable dielectric properties and scalable fabrication highlight these composites as sustainable alternatives to conventional absorbers, balancing performance, cost, and environmental benefits.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3>\n<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":620,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computational Electronics","volume":"24 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Computational Electronics","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10825-025-02362-x","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The design of the cost-effective, eco-friendly and sustainable microwave absorbers is still difficult due to material’s properties limitation. This work bridges this gap by developing a microwave absorber using sugarcane bagasse (SB), an agriculture waste (environmentally friendly) mixed with metal-free multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Five samples (SB, SBCNT-1, SBCNT-2, SBCNT-3, and SBCNT-5) of 4 mm thickness are prepared with varying MWCNT loadings (0–5 wt%) and tested for the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). Dielectric properties are analyzed via the coaxial transmission line technique, while reflection loss (RLmin) is measured using a free-space system. The dielectric constant and loss factor of the samples are improved by 32% and 84% by increasing the loading percentage of MWCNTs from (0 to 5 wt %) into SB. Pure SB exhibited a 1.84 GHz absorption bandwidth with RLmin = − 14.64 dB at 11.8 GHz. Adding 1 wt.% MWCNTs (SBCNT-1) improved RLmin to − 19.91 dB at 10.92 GHz (99.99% absorption) and effective absorption bandwidth to 2.45 GHz. Higher MWCNT loadings further increased bandwidth: SBCNT-2 (3.3 GHz, 78% X-band coverage) and SBCNT-3 (3.9 GHz, 92% coverage), representing a 112% improvement over SB. However, SBCNT-5 showed reduced bandwidth (2.7 GHz), attributed to surpassing the percolation threshold, where excessive conductivity promotes reflection. The tunable dielectric properties and scalable fabrication highlight these composites as sustainable alternatives to conventional absorbers, balancing performance, cost, and environmental benefits.

Graphical abstract

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

无金属碳纳米管和甘蔗渣复合材料：增强x波段微波吸收的可持续解决方案

由于材料性能的限制，设计经济、环保、可持续的微波吸收器仍然是一个困难的问题。这项工作通过将甘蔗渣（SB）（一种环境友好的农业废弃物）与不含金属的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNTs）混合开发出一种微波吸收剂来弥补这一空白。制备了5个厚度为4 mm的样品（SB、SBCNT-1、SBCNT-2、SBCNT-3和SBCNT-5），并在不同的MWCNT负载（0-5 wt%）下进行了x波段（8.2-12.4 GHz）测试。通过同轴传输线技术分析了介质特性，利用自由空间系统测量了反射损耗（RLmin）。将MWCNTs加入SB的比例从（0 wt %增加到5 wt %），样品的介电常数和损耗因子分别提高了32%和84%。纯SB的吸收带宽为1.84 GHz，在11.8 GHz处RLmin = - 14.64 dB。添加1 wt.%的MWCNTs （SBCNT-1）可将10.92 GHz（99.99%吸收）下的RLmin提高到−19.91 dB，有效吸收带宽提高到2.45 GHz。更高的MWCNT负载进一步增加了带宽：SBCNT-2 （3.3 GHz， 78%的x波段覆盖）和SBCNT-3 （3.9 GHz， 92%的覆盖）比SB提高了112%。然而，SBCNT-5的带宽减少了（2.7 GHz），这是由于超过了渗透阈值，过高的电导率会促进反射。可调的介电性能和可扩展的制造突出了这些复合材料作为传统吸收剂的可持续替代品，平衡了性能、成本和环境效益。图形抽象

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Computational Electronics ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC-PHYSICS, APPLIED

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

4.80%

发文量

142

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： he Journal of Computational Electronics brings together research on all aspects of modeling and simulation of modern electronics. This includes optical, electronic, mechanical, and quantum mechanical aspects, as well as research on the underlying mathematical algorithms and computational details. The related areas of energy conversion/storage and of molecular and biological systems, in which the thrust is on the charge transport, electronic, mechanical, and optical properties, are also covered. In particular, we encourage manuscripts dealing with device simulation; with optical and optoelectronic systems and photonics; with energy storage (e.g. batteries, fuel cells) and harvesting (e.g. photovoltaic), with simulation of circuits, VLSI layout, logic and architecture (based on, for example, CMOS devices, quantum-cellular automata, QBITs, or single-electron transistors); with electromagnetic simulations (such as microwave electronics and components); or with molecular and biological systems. However, in all these cases, the submitted manuscripts should explicitly address the electronic properties of the relevant systems, materials, or devices and/or present novel contributions to the physical models, computational strategies, or numerical algorithms.