Construction of self-assembled bilayer core–shell V₂O₃ microspheres as absorber with superior microwave absorption performance

The design and preparation of heterogeneous structures of dielectric materials has been the mainstream direction for the construction of superior microwave absorption materials (MAMs). We report a facile and efficient procedure combination of hydrothermal process and subsequent heat treatment for successfully prepared bilayer core–shell structure self-assembled V₂O₃ microspheres (BCSV). The microstructure, defects, dielectric properties and microwave absorption (MA) properties of BCSV were systematically investigated, and the effect of bilayer core–shell structure on the MA properties was discussed. By varying the heat treatment temperature, it is feasible to regulate the thickness of V₂O₃ bilayer and its unique structure defects, hence enhancing the attenuation and multiple polarization loss of electromagnetic waves inside the microspheres. Self-assembled V₂O₃ microspheres with bilayer core–shell structure exhibit high-performance MA property. The reflection loss (RL) gets to − 67.12 dB at 11.69 GHz covering the whole X-band after heat treatment at 600 °C, and the broad effective absorption bandwidth is 5.49 GHz with a thickness of 2.20 mm. The conductivity loss, multiple polarization loss and dielectric loss are ascribed to the specific bilayer core–shell structure. Thus, our work provides a good perspective on how to create vanadium oxide-based MAMs with effective absorption and broad bandwidth.