J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 253: 146-158.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.07.026

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Directionally pressurized filtrated nitrogen-doped CNTs/RGO/carbon hollow sphere/CoNi sandwich buckypaper with superflexible, high-strength mechanical, and excellent microwave-absorbing properties

Yanzhi Caia,*,1, Yalong Chaia,1, Laifei Chengb, Hongfeng Yina, Xue Huanga, Haiming Yua, Shaoxiong Rena, Mingxing Chena, Zixuan Yua, Mingtao Qiaoa   

  1. aCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China;
    bScience and Technology on Thermostructure Composite Materials Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China;
  • Received:2025-05-26 Revised:2025-07-11 Accepted:2025-07-13 Published:2026-05-10 Online:2026-05-07
  • Contact: *E-mail address: caiyanzhi@xauat.edu.cn (Y. Cai).
  • About author:1 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: It remains a challenge to fabricate self-supporting superflexible high-strength films of multi-layered nanocomposites in one step using a simple method. Here, a unique sandwich multi-layer structured, superflexible, and high-strength buckypaper was one-step formed via Directional Pressure Filtration. The buckypaper used carbon nanotube (CNTs)-carbon hollow sphere/CoNi nanochains as the skin layer and reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-carbon hollow sphere/CoNi as the core layer. By constructing a transition layer between the core and skin layers, a natural changeover between layers was achieved, and the interlayer bonding was strengthened. The sandwich buckypaper had both high strength and superflexibility, with a maximum tensile strength of 21.6 MPa and a maximum tensile strain of 11.5 %. It was folded randomly along sharp creases (such as folded into an origami crane) without damage. With a minimum reflection loss of -66.03 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.0 GHz, it demonstrated excellent microwave-absorption property. The two-dimensional simulated RCS curves, covering angles from -60° to 60°, showed that within the skin-to-core mass ratio of 2:1 to 1:2, all RCS values stayed beneath -10 dB m2; at the mass ratio of 1:1, no scattering signal was observed. Its excellent microwave absorption performance and high-strength, superflexible mechanical properties endow it unique charm and potential application advantages in the field of wearable electronics.

Key words: Sandwich buckypaper, Directional Pressure Filtration, Mechanical properties, Microwave-absorbing properties, One-step formation