Conducting polymer coated metal-organic framework nanoparticles: Facile synthesis and enhanced electromagnetic absorption properties

•A novel polyaniline coated MOF (Fe) was synthesized via a two-step method.•The maximum reflection loss of MOF (Fe)/PANI composite can achieve −41.4 dB at 11.6 GHz with a thickness of 2 mm.•The absorption bandwidth exceeding −10 dB is almost up to 5.5 GHz (from 9.8 to 15.3 GHz).

A hybrid polyaniline coated metal organic framework (MOF/PANI) was designed and fabricated via hydrothermal and in situ chemical polymerization methods The microstructure and morphology were examined by XRD, FTIR, FESEM and TEM. The results showed that MOF (Fe) particles were completely coated by PANI and formed a core-shell composite. The hybrid MOF (Fe)/PANI composite exhibited enhanced EM wave absorption capability compared with MOF (Fe), including the higher absorption intensity (−41.4 dB at 11.6 GHz) and excellent absorption bandwidth (5.5 GHz exceeding −10 dB with an only thickness of 2 mm), which was due to enhanced interfacial effects, attenuation constant and the synergic effect between MOF (Fe) and PANI. Therefore, such a core-shell MOF (Fe)/PANI composite is a promising absorber for application in microwave absorption field.