Sintering-regulated two-dimensional plate@shell basalt@NiO heterostructure for enhanced microwave absorption.

[Display omitted] • Basalt coated by NiO is synthesized by water bath method followed by sintering process. • The enhanced microwave absorption for basalt@NiO heterostructure has been achieved when sintered at 300 °C. • An amount of vacancies defects and large heterogeneous interface in basalt@NiO-300 °C improve the dielectric loss. • Basalt@NiO heterostructure also has low density, high temperature resistance and excellent anticorrosion. The heterostructure has attracted widespread attention in improving microwave absorption due to the unique composition and structure. Herein, a novel two-dimensional (2D) plate@shell basalt@NiO heterostructure is synthesized through a sequential process of water bath method followed by a sintered operation. The sintering temperature helps regulate the microwave absorption performance by controlling the heterogeneous interface and vacancy defects of basalt@NiO to optimize the dielectric loss. The RL of the prepared basalt@NiO with the sintering temperature of 300 °C reaches up to −15.93 dB at 16.13 GHz, which is attributed to the polarization loss enhanced by vacancy defects (O, Ni vacancies) introduced by low-temperature sintering and large heterogeneous contacts constructed by basalt and NiO. Meanwhile, the high concentration of vacancy defects also leads to a large electrical conductivity that positively contributes to dielectric loss. Furthermore, the basalt@NiO composite possesses relatively low density, high thermal stability and anticorrosion. This finding provides a way for designing the light microwave absorption materials with excellent environmental stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]