Posted in | News | Nanoanalysis

Thermo-Tunable Broadband Metamaterial Engineered with Ultra-Broadband Absorption

Researchers guided by Professor Xiaoyong Tian in the State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University have engineered a thermo-tunable broadband metamaterial (T-TBM) by three-dimensional (3D) printing.

(a) Microstructure of RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites; (b) production process of T-TBM; (c) infrared images of T-TBM at different temperatures; (d) reflection loss of T-TBM at different temperatures. Image Credit: Xiao-Chang Xing.

The T-TBM’s electromagnetic (EM) response can be modified by regulating the solid-liquid phase state of diverse metamaterial units. In contrast to formerly reported active control metamaterials, the T-TBM’s absorption response can be regulated by temperature alteration; moreover, its performance of ultra-wideband absorbing does not alter with the temperature.

The researchers state that the T-TBM can also boost the development of intelligent metamaterials and thermally regulated absorbers.

The team initially made RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites in this research using a mechanical technique. The characterization outcomes of the RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites verified that the RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites with the sandwich structure were effectively prepared.

Then, paraffin-based composites (PD-Cs) were effectively prepared by incorporating 15 wt% RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites into paraffin with diverse phase transition temperatures.

It has been demonstrated that the PD-Cs possess superior electromagnetic loss performance with steady phase transition behavior (the phase transition behavior does not alter with incorporating RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites). Established on the physical parameters’ test of the PD-Cs, the researchers engineered and enhanced the structure of the T-TBM using ANSYS HFSS 16.0.

Furthermore, the structure’s absorbing performance is replicated and tested. The experimental outcomes illustrate that the T-TBM has the property of ultra-wideband absorbing and can change the absorbing peak (reflection loss is less than −30 dB) at diverse temperatures.

However, the variation in temperature does not change the T-TBM’s ultra-wideband microwave absorbing performance. In the end, the researchers examined the micro-mechanism of thermo-tunable absorbing properties of the T-TBM.

The findings illustrate that the various micro-morphologies of the conductive network developed by RGO@Fe3O4 nanocomposites during the phase transition of PD-Cs have a vital role in the thermal control mechanism of the T-TBM.

Journal Reference:

Xing, X-C., et al. (2022) A Thermo-Tunable Metamaterial as an Actively Controlled Broadband Absorber. Engineering. doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2022.04.028.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.