Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

Magnetic–Dielectric Synergy in One-Dimensional Metal Heterostructures for Enhanced Low-Frequency Microwave Absorption

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01995-8
Feiyue Hu
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Peigen Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Pei Ding
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Shuo Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Bingbing Fan
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, People’s Republic of China
Ali Saffar Shamshirgar
Materials Design Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Wei Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Wenwen Sun
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Longzhu Cai
State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People’s Republic of China
Haijiao Xie
Hangzhou Yanqu Information Technology Co., Ltd, Hangzhou 310003, People’s Republic of China
Qiyue Shao
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Johanna Rosen
Materials Design Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
ZhengMing Sun
State Key Laboratory of Engineering Materials for Major Infrastructure, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: ZhengMing Sun

zmsun@seu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 155

Abstract

Microwave absorption (MA) materials often face poor synergy between impedance matching and attenuation in the low-frequency range. Balancing permittivity and permeability through magnetic–dielectric synergy is a promising strategy to address this issue. To realize the synergy, herein, Sn whiskers with an in situ oxide layer served as substrates for magnetic-loss-active CoNi nanosheet growth, forming a hierarchical CoNi@SnO2@Sn (CNS) heterostructure. The CNS absorber achieves a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) value of − 62.29 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 2.2 GHz, covering the entire C-band with 70% absorption at only 2.61 mm thickness. The nanosheet design of CoNi enhances magnetic anisotropy to promote natural resonance, while the conductive Sn core and abundant Sn/SnO2 and CoNi/SnO2 heterointerfaces facilitate conduction loss and dielectric polarization. When composited into a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix, the resulting CNS/TPU-2 film (20 wt% CNS) exhibits an RLmin value of -61.04 dB and a 2.5 GHz EAB. Its in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivities reach 2.41 and 0.51 W m−1 K−1, representing 4.1 and 2.6 times those of pure TPU films, respectively, facilitating heat dissipation from protected devices. This work provides valuable insights into magnetic–dielectric synergy for low-frequency MA of 1D metal-based materials, offering promising potential for 5G communications and flexible electronics.


Highlights:
1 The hierarchical structure of CoNi nanosheets wrapped on one-dimensional Sn whiskers enhances magnetic anisotropy and dielectric losses, enabling strong magnetic–dielectric synergy.
2 The CoNi@SnO2@Sn (CNS) filler achieves − 62.29 dB reflection loss and 2.2 GHz bandwidth, fully covering the C-band with > 70% absorption, outperforming most low-frequency absorbers.
3 A flexible CNS/TPU film exhibits superior low-frequency microwave absorption and thermal conductivity, expanding its potential applications in communication electronics.

Keywords

Low frequency microwave absorption Magnetic–dielectric synergy MAX phase CoNi@SnO2@Sn heterostructure Thermal conductivity
Hu, Feiyue, Peigen Zhang, Pei Ding, Shuo Zhang, Bingbing Fan, Ali Saffar Shamshirgar, Wei Zheng, Wenwen Sun, Longzhu Cai, Haijiao Xie, Qiyue Shao, Johanna Rosen, and ZhengMing Sun. 2026. “Magnetic–Dielectric Synergy in One-Dimensional Metal Heterostructures for Enhanced Low-Frequency Microwave Absorption”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (January):155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01995-8.
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