Large-scale synthesis of monodispersed Si–B–N–O doped carbon hollow cages with microwave absorption property

•Monodispersed Si–B–N–O doped carbon hollow spheres were successfully prepared.•Bulk-quantity precursor was synthesized by a polymerization reaction.•The products exhibit excellent microwave absorption property.

A novel method, combining polymerization and pyrolysis of single precursor on a silicon wafer, has been developed to synthesize monodispersed and Si–B–N–O doped carbon hollow cages in large-scale. The products have hollow architectures (2–3 μm in diameter) with nano-pores on the spherical walls and a composition of Si0.03B0.1N0.03O0.04C0.8. The products exhibit the minimum reflection loss of −40.9 dB at 12.0 GHz (the effective reflection values are obtained in a very wide range of 3.8–17.5 GHz) suggesting a new and high quality microwave absorbent.

Graphical abstractBulk quantity and monodispersed Si–B–N–O doped carbon hollow spheres have been synthesized by a simple precursor. The products exhibit the minimum reflection loss of −42.5 dB at 12.6 GHz suggesting a new and high quality microwave absorbent.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide