Effects of microstructure evolution of SiC/SiOC aerogel on electromagnetic wave absorption and infrared stealth properties

Developing radar-infrared-compatible stealth materials is challenging because the material performance requirements between infrared and radar stealth are contradictory. At present, ceramic aerogel is one of the candidate materials that may solve this problem. Here, polymer derived SiC/SiOC aerogels were prepared and their microstructures were tailored by annealing temperature. It is found that the synergistic effects of the pore size distribution, the formation of nano-turbostratic carbons (NTCs) network and the content of SiC nanoparticles contribute to the excellent electromagnetic wave absorption and improved infrared stealth performance of SiC/SiOC aerogel. When the thickness of SiC/SiOC aerogel is 1.78 mm, the minimum reflection loss is −53.5 dB and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth is 6 GHz. In addition, SiC/SiOC aerogel exhibits excellent thermal insulation properties and improved low infrared emissivity. This study provides insights for the development of materials with radar-infrared-compatible stealth properties.