Biography: Dr. Tingkai Zhao has accomplished his doctoral degree in Materials Science from Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) and is currently working as a full professor in School of Materials Science and Engineering of Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), China. As the vice-director of Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Graphene New Carbon Materials & Applications, his researcher topics are: the synthesis of graphene, carbon nanotubes (single-wall, multi-wall CNTs and amorphous CNTs), flexible graphite, 2D nanomaterials, the growth mechanism, and applications of carbon nanomaterials in composites, energy conversion (solar cell, supercapacitor and Li-ion batteries), smart device and biosensors. In addition, he has published 2 books, 10 patents and more than 100 academic articles on SCI journals. He was also awarded the first prize of the science and technology of Shaanxi province (2013).

Topic: Synthesis of Sandwich Microstructured Expanded Graphite/barium Ferrite Connected with Carbon Nanotube Composite and its Electromagnetic Wave Absorbing Properties

Abstract: The pursuing aim of high reflection loss and broad frequency bandwidth for electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials is a long-term task and under a close scrutiny. To construct rational microstructures for the absorber have significant impacts on increasing reflection loss and broadening frequency bandwidth. Herein, we presented a sandwich microstructured expand graphite(EG)/BaFe₁₂O₁₉(BF) nanocomposite successfully prepared by in-situ sol-gel auto- combustion method. The experimental results showed that EG/BF nanocomposite has better EMW absorbing performance than pure EG and BF, the sandwich microstructured EG/BF connected with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could further improve the electromagnetic performance effectively. The obtained CNT/EG/BF nanocomposite exhibited a saturation magnetization of 26.5 emu•g-1 at room temperature and an excellent EMW absorbing performance. The maximum reflection loss of the sandwich microstructured CNT/EG/BF composites with a thickness of 1 mm was up to -45.8 dB and the frequency bandwidth below -10 dB could reach to 4.2 GHz within the frequency range of 2-18 GHz. The research results indicated that the prepared nanocomposite showed great potential as a new type of microwave absorbing material.