Preparation and electromagnetic attenuation properties of MoS₂–PANI composites: a promising broadband absorbing material

As an ideal electromagnetic (EM) wave absorber, it is prone to possess lightweight, thin matching thickness, broad absorption bandwidth and strong absorption performance. In this work, MoS₂–PANI composites were prepared by situ chemical oxidative polymerization method, and the crystal structure, morphology, composition and EM properties were characterized. The microwave absorption properties of MoS₂–PANI composites could be tuned by changing the PANI content to reach the best impedance match. The minimum reflection loss (RL) value of MoS₂–PANI was − 40.79 dB at 14.01 GHz with the thickness of 2.0 mm, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth was 5.02 GHz ranging from 11.88 to 16.90 GHz with a thickness of 2.0 mm. Moreover, the RL value of MoS₂–PANI composites could reach under − 10 dB in a wide frequency range of 4.74–18 GHz with a thickness of 1.5–4.5 mm. In particular, the 3 mm wave attenuation properties of MoS₂–PANI composites were investigated for the first time, and the maximum attenuation value reached 15.45 dB. As a result, MoS₂–PANI composites are promising to be excellent EM wave absorption materials in broadband.