Facile design of multifunctional melamine foam with Ni-anchored reduced graphene oxide/MXene as highly efficient microwave absorber

The appropriate multi-component strategies and ingenious microstructure design remain challenging for the development of multifunctional and high-performance electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. Here, magnetic Ni nanoparticles-anchored reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/Ti₃C₂T_x MXene hybrids were successfully assembled on melamine foam (MF) via electrostatic self-assembly and hydrazine vapor reduction processes, achieving high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption and multifunctionality. Interestingly, the RGO/MXene/Ni-MF achieves high-performance microwave absorption with a minimum reflection loss value of − 61.3 dB and a maximum width effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 7.04 GHz. The superior electromagnetic wave absorption stems from a 3D dielectric/magnetic network with satisfactory impedance matching, dielectric/magnetic losses, interface/dipole polarization and multiple reflection scattering. Furthermore, the RGO/MXene/Ni-MF also revealed outstanding hydrophobicity, thermal insulation, infrared shielding and incombustibility. This work opens up novel prospects for developing lightweight, multifunctional microwave absorbers for practical applications.