Facile preparation of polyvinyl chloride/activated carbon thin-film composites and study of their microwave absorption at Ka-band frequencies

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and activated carbon (AC) powders were hot-pressed into (PVC)100–x/(AC)x thin-film composites (TFCs), where x = 0.2–30 wt%. The nanostructure, morphology, and composition of AC were investigated by TEM, SEM, and EDX. The thermal stability and surface carbon-oxygen groups of the AC filler were determined by thermolysis in air and vacuum. The AC effect on the (PVC)100–x/(AC)x TFCs transparency to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) was demonstrated at Ka-band microwave frequencies. Characteristically, the EMR reflection of the TFCs increases with the x value. For reduced EMR reflection, these TFCs should contain only 0.2 wt% AC.