Facile fabrication of urchin-like carbon nanotube–modified Cu 0.48 Ni 0.16 Co 2.36 O 4 /CuO with high optical–infrared–microwave attenuation

Developing high-performance absorbers with a broad absorption band is a considerable challenge. Herein, carbon nanotube-modified Cu0.48Ni0.16Co2.36O4/CuO (C–CuNiCoO) composites were prepared using the one-pot hydrothermal method. The composites show good light scattering ability and longer light path due to their urchin-like structures, and lead to perfect absorption above 90% in optical ranges. Moreover, in the infrared ranges, the composites exhibited a high average mass extinction coefficient of 2.52 m2.g-1. The unique carbon modification favored the balance between impedance and strong loss capacity. Consequently, C–CuNiCoO achieved excellent absorption performance with a reflection loss up to −40.5 dB at 17.1 GHz. This study opens a new pathway for designing and synthesizing wideband absorption materials.