Carbon (C) is a crucial material for many branches of modern technology. A growing number of demanding applications in electronics and telecommunications rely on the unique properties of C allotropes. The need for microwave absorbers and radar-absorbing materials is ever growing in military applications (reduction of radar signature of aircraft, ships, tanks, and targets) as well as in civilian applications (reduction of electromagnetic interference among components and circuits, reduction of the back-radiation of microstrip radiators). Whatever the application for which the absorber is intended, weight reduction and optimization of the operating bandwidth are two important issues. A composite absorber that uses carbonaceous particles in combination with a polymer matrix offers a large flexibility for design and properties control, as the composite can be tuned and optimized via changes in both the carbonaceous inclusions (C black, C nanotube, C fiber, graphene) and the embedding matrix (rubber, thermoplastic). This paper offers a perspective on the experimental efforts toward the development of microwave absorbers composed of carbonaceous inclusions in a polymer matrix. The absorption properties of such composites can be tailored through changes in geometry, composition, morphology, and volume fraction of the filler particles. Polymercomposites filled with carbonaceous particles provide a versatile system to probe physical properties at the nanoscale of fundamental interest and of relevance to a wide range of potential applications that span radar absorption, electromagnetic protection from natural phenomena (lightning), shielding for particle accelerators in nuclear physics, nuclear electromagnetic pulse protection, electromagnetic compatibility for electronic devices, high-intensity radiated field protection, anechoic chambers, and human exposure mitigation. Carbonaceous particles are also relevant to future applications that require environmentally benign and mechanically flexible materials.

There exists serious miscomprehension in the open literature about the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) as a critical index to evaluate the shielding performance, which is misleading to the graduates and newcomers embarking on the field of electromagnetic shielding materials. EMI SE is defined as the sum of three terms including reflection loss, absorption loss, and multiple reflection loss in the classical Schelkunoff theory, while it is decomposed into two terms named reflection loss and absorption loss in practice, which is called Calculation theory here. In this paper, we elucidate the widely seen misconceptions connected with EMI SE via theoretical derivation and instance analysis. First, the terms in Calculation theory are often mistakenly regarded as the approximation of the terms with the same names in Schelkunoff theory when multiple reflection loss is negligible. Second, it is insufficient and unreasonable to determine the absorption-dominant shielding performance in the case that absorption loss is higher than reflection loss since reflection loss and absorption loss cannot represent the actual levels of reflected and absorbed power. Power coefficients are recommended to compare the contribution of reflection and absorption to shielding performance. Third, multiple reflection effect is included in the definitions of reflection loss and absorption loss in Calculation theory, and the effect of multiple reflections on shielding property is clarified as against the commonly wrong understandings. These clarifications offer correct comprehension about the shielding mechanism and assessment of reflection and absorption contribution to the total shielding.

Multi-layer 2D material assemblies provide a great number of interfaces beneficial for electromagnetic wave absorption. However, avoiding agglomeration and achieving layer-by-layer ordered intercalation remain challenging. Here, 3D reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/MXene/TiO₂/Fe₂C lightweight porous microspheres with periodical intercalated structures and pronounced interfacial effects were constructed by spray-freeze-drying and microwave irradiation based on the Maxwell–Wagner effect. Such approach reinforced interfacial effects via defects introduction, porous skeleton, multi-layer assembly and multi-component system, leading to synergistic loss mechanisms. The abundant 2D/2D/0D/0D intercalated heterojunctions in the microspheres provide a high density of polarization charges while generating abundant polarization sites, resulting in boosted interfacial polarization, which is verified by CST Microwave Studio simulations. By precisely tuning the 2D nanosheets intercalation in the heterostructures, both the polarization loss and impedance matching improve significantly. At a low filler loading of 5 wt%, the polarization loss rate exceeds 70%, and a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of −67.4 dB can be achieved. Moreover, radar cross-section simulations further confirm the attenuation ability of the optimized porous microspheres. These results not only provide novel insights into understanding and enhancing interfacial effects, but also constitute an attractive platform for implementing heterointerface engineering based on customized 2D hierarchical architectures.