Featuring heterogeneous composite of W-type hexagonal ferrite with 2D vanadium carbide MXene for wideband microwave absorption

In this study, W-type hexagonal ferrite BaCo_1.2Zn_0.8Fe₁₆O₂₇ (BCZF) was synthesized via solid-state sintering and V₂CT_x-MXene was chemically etched from its V₂AlC MAX phase. Subsequently, BCZF and V₂CT_x composites were synthesized by hydrothermal integration of V₂CT_x on the surface of BCZF bonded by electrostatic forces at varying mass ratios. The extensive heterostructure interfacial morphology of two dimensional V₂CT_x and BCZF plays an explicit role in tuning the dielectric and magnetic loss characteristics of the synthesized composites. The dielectric-magnetic synergistic loss mechanism caused by interfacial polarization, strong multi-reflections, scattering between MXene multilayer structures, conduction loss, and magnetic resonance effectively optimized impedance matching to improve the attenuation ability of the synthesized composites. Remarkably, the BCZF@10%V₂CT_x composite achieved strong electromagnetic wave absorption ability with an effective absorption bandwidth (RL < −10 dB) of 8.0 GHz (10–18 GHz) which is superior to that of contemporary magnetic–dielectric hybrid composites. These results present a novel perspective on magnetic V₂CT_x-MXene composites for microwave absorption applications, and provide a basis for the design and development of high-performance cloaking materials.