Hydrothermal Carbonization of V2O5 Nanowires into Aerogels for Excellent Green Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Abstract

Realizing a potential lightweight electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield with high absorption and low secondary reflection is still challenging. Herein, a novel ultralight aerogel was prepared by simple hydrothermal carbonization of V2O5 nanowires. The highly porous and three-dimensional (3D) conductive nanowire networks inside the aerogel simultaneously support EM wave dissipation through multiple internal reflections and reduce shield density to 0.026 g/cc. The designer aerogels exhibit high shielding efficiency (SE) in X, Ku, and K bands with a maximum EMI SE of 43.24 dB at 26.5 GHz. Exceptional specific shielding efficiency of 5147.6 dB cm2/g was achieved in the K band with a high green index of 1.58. The lightweight carbonized V2O5 aerogels are promising shielding structures suitable for aircraft and portable device applications. The hydrothermal synthesis procedure with hazard-free materials described here proves that efficient shielding aerogels can be successfully constructed through facile synthesis protocols.