Hierarchical Ti3C2Tx@ZnO Hollow Spheres with Excellent Microwave Absorption Inspired by the Visual Phenomenon of Eyeless Urchins

Abstract

Ingenious microstructure design and rational composition selection are effective approaches to realize high-performance microwave absorbers, and the advancement of biomimetic manufacturing provides a new strategy. In nature, urchins are the animals without eyes but can “see”, because their special structure composed of regular spines and spherical photosensitive bodies “amplifies” the light-receiving ability. Herein, inspired by the above phenomenon, the biomimetic urchin-like Ti₃C₂T_x@ZnO hollow microspheres are rationally designed and fabricated, in which ZnO nanoarrays (length: ~ 2.3 μm, diameter: ~ 100 nm) as the urchin spines are evenly grafted onto the surface of the Ti₃C₂T_x hollow spheres (diameter: ~ 4.2 μm) as the urchin spherical photosensitive bodies. The construction of gradient impedance and hierarchical heterostructures enhance the attenuation of incident electromagnetic waves. And the EMW loss behavior is further revealed by limited integral simulation calculations, which fully highlights the advantages of the urchin-like architecture. As a result, the Ti₃C₂T_x@ZnO hollow spheres deliver a strong reflection loss of − 57.4 dB and broad effective absorption bandwidth of 6.56 GHz, superior to similar absorbents. This work provides a new biomimetic strategy for the design and manufacturing of advanced microwave absorbers.