Ceramics International 47 (2021) 17337–17344

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Ceramics International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint

Thermally stable ultra-thin and refractory microwave absorbing coating

Shixin Zhao, Hua Ma *, Tengqiang Shao, Jun Wang **, Lei Zhang, Sai Sui, Mingde Feng,
Jiafu Wang, Shaobo Qu
Department of Basic Sciences, Air Force Engineering University, Xi’an, 710051, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The thickness and thermal stability of electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing materials greatly affect its service
EM absorbing material life and practical application. In this paper, an ultra-thin high-temperature EM wave absorbing coating composed
TiB2 material of titanium diboride (TiB2) and alumina (Al2O3) was designed and experimentally demonstrated, which exhibits
X-band
excellent absorbing performance in a wide temperature range. Atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) technique
Atmospheric plasma spraying
was employed to simplify the preparation of the coating, ensuring its feasibility and practicability. Due to its
permittivity increases with temperature and TiB2 content, the coating can exhibit good EM impedance in a wide
temperature range by adjusting the suitable ratio of the x.wtTiB2~(1-x).wtAl2O3. When the x value is equal to
0.3, with a thickness of only 1.4 mm, the reflection loss (RL) below -5 dB covered almost the whole X-band in a
wide temperature range from 400 ◦ C to 800 ◦ C. The results of X-ray diffractometer (XRD) indicate that there are
only two phases in the coating. The images of scanning electron microscope (SEM) show that TiB2 is unevenly
distributed in Al2O3 matrix from the microscopic view, which causes loss of interfacial polarization and con­
ductivity. This work illustrates the broad prospects of TiB2-based materials in high-temperature microwave
absorption applications.

1. Introduction resistance and wave absorption. In addition, the microwave absorption

With the rapid development of information technology and the
increasingly complex battlefield environment, the appearance of stealth
weapons has an important impact on modern war mode [1–4]. Due to
the significance of improving survival and penetration ability, radar
stealth technology has been paid more and more attention. At present, in
order to achieve the purpose of radar stealth, there are mainly two
methods, including shape stealth technology and material stealth tech­
nology [5]. The former generally reduces the radar cross section (RCS)
of the target within a certain range of incident angles by changing the
shape. The latter uses radar absorbing materials (RAMs) to convert
electromagnetic wave energy into heat energy and then dissipate it.
Excessive shape design will affect the aerodynamic performance of the
aircraft. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize RAMs to achieve better
stealth capability. At the same time, modern aircraft needs to maintain
stealth mode in the process of flexible high-speed maneuver in order to
complete challenging tasks. Due to aerodynamic heat, the surface tem­
perature of aircrafts rises rapidly with the increase of flight speed [6–8].
RAMs used in such environment must have both high temperature
should remain stable when the temperature changes [9].
A variety of materials have been considered, including metal oxides,
carbon-based materials and ceramics, such as Si3N4, SiCf/SiC, TiC, WC,
MnO2, ZnO, Ti3SiC2, carbon fibers, CNTs, and graphene [10–27].
However, the key problems that seriously limits its further wide appli­
cation still exist. For instance, high temperature absorbing material
made of SiCf/SiC–Al2O3 composites [20] has a thickness of up to 3 mm,
which can increase the weight of the workpiece for the excessive
thickness. High-temperature microwave-absorption property of
Ti3SiC2/NASICON [15] coating changes greatly with the change of
temperature from 25 ◦ C to 500 ◦ C. Its bandwidth of RL below -5 dB
almost covered the X-band with a thickness of 1.8 mm at 200 ◦ C.
However, it is all greater than -5 dB at 500 ◦ C. To sum up, many key
problems remain exist, including excessive thickness, relatively narrow
absorption frequency range, and decreasing electromagnetic wave ab­
sorption efficiency with increasing temperature.
Radar absorbing coatings (RACs) has been widely studied due to its
excellent properties, including strong adhesion, simple preparation
process and high temperature oxidation resistance. Generally, RACs are

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mahuar@xjtu.edu.cn (H. Ma), wangjun563@163.com (J. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.03.047
Received 16 January 2021; Received in revised form 23 February 2021; Accepted 3 March 2021
Available online 13 March 2021
0272-8842/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.
S. Zhao et al.
composed of dielectric absorbents dispersed in insulating matrix,
including WC/Al2O3, Ti3SiC2/cordierite, TiO2/Al2O3, and LaSrMnO3/
Al2O3 [28–32]. It is believed that the EM absorption of a specific ma­
terial is determined by its complex permittivity. By adjusting the pro­
portion of each component, suitable EM parameters can be obtained to
acquire better impedance matching in thin thickness. Thus, the coating
can properly match the EM impedance and consume more incident EM
energy.
Because the problems of thickness and thermal stability have not
been solved, it is necessary to find a new type of RAC with excellent
high-temperature microwave absorption and ultra-thin thickness. Tita­
nium diboride (TiB2) [33,34], the most stable compound of boron and
titanium, has already been widely used in cermet coatings, and has
many excellent physical and chemical properties, such as high melting
point (3253 K), extremely low density (4.52 g/cm3), extremely high
hardness (34 GPa) and excellent corrosion resistance. Due to its excel­
lent electrical conductivity [35], it is suitable for microwave absorption
as dielectric absorbents dispersed in insulating matrix. Alumina (Al2O3)
is a widely used substrate material for RACs due to its thermal properties
and exceptional mechanical characteristics. These properties make these
two substances suitable for designing new RAC.
In this study, TiB2 and Al2O3 were used as raw materials to prepare
new RAC by APS technique. Fig. 1 illustrates the main design scheme. To
obtain excellent absorbing performance, suitable EM parameters were
obtained by adjusting the content of TiB2 in the composite. The dielec­
tric and EM wave absorption properties of TiB2/Al2O3 coatings at
different temperatures were studied and discussed in detail. Then, the
optimal component ratio was selected through simulations and experi­
ments. Furthermore, the influence of the TiB2 content on the absorption
performance of the coating was explained from the microscopic point of
view. Our work shows that the RAC possesses good wave absorption
performance in a wide temperature range with a thin thickness, which
illustrates a bright prospect of this material system in high temperature
applications.
2. Methods
2.1. Preparation of the TiB2/Al2O3 coatings via plasma spraying
technology
Commercially available titanium diboride and alumina high-purity
powder (purity > 99.9%) were selected as raw materials and provided
by Jiaxing Tiantan Materials Co., Ltd. China. The APS is used to produce
x.wt TiB2~(1-x).wt Al2O3 coating (x = 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30). The main
procedure includes the following two specific steps: preparing spherical
powder and spraying samples in turn. In the first step, in order to pre­
pare nearly spherical powder with excellent fluidity for plasma spraying,
TiB2 and Al2O3 powders were mixed with the above four different
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a candidate absorbing coating through conductance material and dielectric material.
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Ceramics International 47 (2021) 17337–17344
weight ratios, and then put into a cylinder mill containing zirconia balls
and alcohol where they were ball milled for 18 h at a rotary speed of 320
rpm. Then, using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as binder, the slurry was
spray-dried by spray granulation technology to ensure that the powder
particles become spherical. There are several key steps that affect the
quality of the powder. The first is the composition of the slurry listed in
the support information (SI). Furthermore, the main parameters of spray
drying include temperature, slurry flow rate, nozzle speed, atomization
air flow rate, etc., which also has a key influence on powder quality, as
shown in SI. In the second step, through APS technique, the new type of
RAC was prepared on the surface of nickel-based superalloy, which is a
commonly used high temperature structural material for its high ther­
mal stability and anti-corrosion properties. The process parameters of
APS are shown in the SI.
2.2. Characterization methods
The phase structure of the coating was detected by X-ray diffrac­
tometer (Philips X-Pert Pro-Diffractometer, Almelo, The Netherlands).
In addition, the microstructure of spherical powder and coating was
carefully observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM, model JSM-
6360, JEOL, Tokyo, Japan). Then, four samples with different compo­
sition ratios with dimension of 22.86 × 10.16 × 1.2 mm were measured
with the X-band waveguide (8.2–12.4 GHz) to obtain the EM scattering
parameter (S parameter) of the fabricated samples, respectively. By
further calculating the S parameter, the complex permittivity can be
obtained. According to the transmission line theory, the thickness-
dependent RLs of the designed RACs were calculated. Finally, the RL
of the prepared RACs with a dimension of 180 mm × 180 mm × 1.4 mm
was measured at 25–800 ◦ C by using the arch reflection test system.
3. Results and discussion
Fig. 2(a) shows the morphology of composite feedstock powders
fabricated by spray granulation technology under SEM. As shown in the
image, the particle shape is spheroid or spherical, and its diameter
mostly between 35 to 60 μm. There is no combination between them,
which indicates that the powder has excellent fluidity. These charac­
teristics make it an ideal choice for coating preparation by APS
technique.
Fig. 2(b) shows the 2000-fold and 16000-fold sectional SEM images
of the RAC respectively. From the 2000-fold sectional SEM images, it is
observed that the prepared coating exhibits an evident lamellar struc­
ture, which is a typical feature of plasma sprayed coatings. Besides, it
possesses relatively low porosity and high density, as shown in SI. The
distribution of TiB2 in Al2O3 matrix is uniform macroscopically due to
the reason that TiB2 in Al2O3 being fully mixed in the ball mill. However,
from the microscopic view, as shown in the 16000-fold sectional SEM
S. Zhao et al. Ceramics International 47 (2021) 17337–17344

Fig. 2. (a) Micro morphology of composite feedstock powders by spray granulation technology. (b) Cross sectional SEM images of the radar absorption coatings. (c)
XRD patterns of the 30%.wt TiB2~70%.wt Al2O3 coating at different temperature.

image below, the regions of TiB2 are formed in different sizes and
shapes. The inhomogeneous microscopic configuration does not affect
the uniform distribution of TiB2 in Al2O3 matrix from a macroscopic
view.
Fig. 2(c) shows XRD pattern of the 30%.wt TiB2 ~ 70%.wt Al2O3
coating when temperature increases from 25 ◦ C to 800 ◦ C. Obviously,
only TiB2 and Al2O3 phases can be observed. They are stable with the
increasing temperature, which indicates that TiB2 does not react with
Al2O3 and has strong oxidation resistance at elevated temperature. Be­
sides, this shows that TiB2 does not oxidize when the coating is prepared
at high temperature. All these characteristics are vital to the EM ab­
sorption performance.
polarization ability of materials in EM field. Debye relaxation theory
[36] gives the relationship between the complex permittivity and tem­
perature. Moreover, the conductivity is also an important factor
affecting the complex permittivity for the electric loss absorbing mate­
rial [37]. Therefore, the influence of temperature on complex permit­
tivity of the absorbing coating is mainly determined by relaxation
polarization and the change of high temperature conductivity. Accord­
ing to Debye’s theory [36], the relationship between relaxation polari­
zation time, ε, and ε′′ can be expressed as follows:
τ(T) = τ0 exp(Ea / KT) (1)
εs − ε∞
(2)
′

Fig. 3 shows the complex permittivity (ε = ε′ − jε′′ ) and the dielectric ε = ε∞ +

1 + ω2 τ 2
loss (tanδ) of 30%.wt TiB2–70%.wt Al2O3 coating at different tempera­
tures from 25 ◦ C to 800 ◦ C. The ε′ , ε′′ and tanδ all increases as the εs − ε∞ σ (T)
ε′′ = ⋅ωτ(T) + (3)
temperature rises. Specifically, as the temperature rises from 25 ◦ C to 1 + ω2 τ2 (T) ε0 ω
800 ◦ C, the values of the three parameters at 10 GHz increase from 23.57
to 30.38, from 3.23 to 9.63, and from 0.137 to 0.327 respectively. The Where τ0, K and Ea represent specific relaxation time, Boltzmann con­
values of the other three coatings are illustrated in SI. stant and activation energy respectively; ε∞ and εs represent the limited
The complex permittivity is an important parameter reflecting the high-frequency permittivity and the limited low-frequency (static)
permittivity, respectively. As shown in Eqs. (1) and (2), τ(T) is

Fig. 3. (a) (b) (c) Permittivity of 30 %wt.TiB2 – 70 %wt.Al2O3 coating at various temperature in x band; (d)Variations of conductivities of x.wtTiB2 – (1-x)wt.Al2O3
coatings at various temperature.

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S. Zhao et al.
negatively correlated with temperature, which then leads to the rise of
ε’. Meanwhile, at high frequency, ωτ ≫ 1, Eq. (1) can be simplified as
follows:
εs − ε∞ σ(T)
ε′′ = + (4)
ωτ(T) ε0 ω
The value of the first item increases with elevated temperature. Be­
sides, the value of the second item is determined by the temperature-
dependent conductivity, namely σ (T). The electrical conductivity of
the coating mainly results from the electronic caused by the addition of
TiB2. Therefore, according to the electronic conduction theory, the σ (T)
of the coatings can be described as follows:
σ (T) = Ae− U/kT
(5)
Where A is constant and U is the potential barrier. Evidently, the σ (T)
increases with temperature. As shown in Fig. 3(d), the experimental
results also confirm the theoretical prediction. Hence, as shown in the
previous analysis, ε’’ will also increase with increase of temperature.
Fig. 4 contains a reflection loss (RL) graph based on calculated
values. Following formulas are used to calculate the data of the four
coatings [11]:
Zin (n) − Z(0)
R= (6)
Zin (n) + Z(0)
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
μ 2πfd√̅̅̅̅̅
Zin (1) = Z(0) tanh(j με) (7)
ε c
RL = 20 log|R| (8)
c
fm = √̅̅̅̅̅ (9)
4d με
Where Zin, f, d and c represent normalized input impedance, EM fre­
quency, thickness and speed of light in vacuum of the coating, respec­
tively. fm stands for the frequency when the RL is the smallest. It can be
seen clearly from the above equation that thickness is an important
parameter closely related to RL and fm. The action mechanism is as
follows. The characteristic impedance (Zm) of the specific material is
determined by its electromagnetic parameters. However, Zin is deter­
mined not only by its characteristic impedance, but also its thickness.
When the d of the coating changes, the Zin of the coating will also
change, so that the impedance matching of the EM wave between the
coating with different thickness and free space (Z0 = 377 Ω) will change.
When the thickness is too large or too small, the impedance mismatch
causes the incident EM not to enter the coating. For an appropriate
coating thickness, the incident EM can enter the coating and then be
effectively consumed and absorbed.
For instance, as shown in Fig. 4(a), fm moves to low frequency as
d becomes thicker. It is worth noting that the coating with a thickness of
Fig. 4. (a) The RL of 30%.wtTiB2 – 70%.wtAl2O3 coating at various thickness in X-band; (b) The best EM absorbing performance of x.wtTiB2 – (1-x)wt.Al2O3 coatings
at 800 ◦ C; (c) The calculated quarter wavelength of each coating at their best absorption performance.
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1.4 mm exhibits good electromagnetic absorption performance at
800 ◦ C. In this case, RL bandwidths below -5 dB and -10 dB can reach
almost the whole x band and 1.52 GHz respectively. For further
research, the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) was defined as the
frequency bandwidth when RL is below -10 dB. Besides, when EAB value
reaches maximum value, the corresponding thickness is regarded as the
optimum thickness (dm).
Furthermore, in order to study the EM absorbing performance of the
coating, we obtained the dm and relevant data via detailed comparison
and analysis, when EBA reached its maximum at 800 ◦ C, as shown in
Fig. 4(b). As x is 0.15, the coating exhibit nearly no absorbing property,
which will not be discussed here. When x is 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3, dm is 2.1
mm, 1.6 mm and 1.4 mm, respectively. As shown in Fig. 4(c), the quarter
wavelength (λ1/4) is calculated according to following formula [38]. Due
to the frequency dispersion of the permittivity, λ1/4 decreases monoto­
nously for each coating as the frequency varies from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz.
Noted that dm of the three coatings is slightly different from the λ1/4 at
the fm. This is mainly due to the frequency dispersion of the complex
permittivity.
d=
c
√̅̅̅ (10)
4f ε
According to the transmission line theory [39], the total electric field
intensity reaches the maximum at the λ1/4 above the metal plane. When
x is 0.3, the electric field distribution of the coating at 8.2, 9.53 and 11.2
GHz are presented, as shown in Fig. 5. EM power absorbed in the coating
is mainly determined by loss as well as the electric field strength, which
is described as follows [38]:
Pabs ∝ωε′′ |E|2 (11)
where E is the total electric field in the medium. It can be clearly seen
from the figure that when the EM frequency is 8.2 and 12.4 GHz, d is less
than and greater than its corresponding λ1/4, respectively, and the total
electric field does not reach the maximum. When f is 9.53 GHz, the
incident EM power absorbed by the coating is strongest at λ1/4 because
of the maximum total electric field.
In addition, we also calculated the normalized complex EM imped­
ance (Z) and only the coating (x = 0.3) was discussed here, as shown in
Fig. 6(a). The values of other two coatings are expressed in SI. It can be
seen from the calculation results that the real part (Z’) and imaginary
part (Z’’) of impedance are close to 1 and 0, respectively, indicating that
the coating possesses a well EM absorbing performance in X-band.
Particularly at 9.53 GHz, the RL of the coating reaches its minimum
value.
Fig. 6(b) shows the correlation between RL and the temperature of
the 30%.wtTiB2 – 70%.wtAl2O3 coating with thickness of dm. The results
indicate that fm decreases with the increase of temperature, but EAB
rises. More specifically, as the temperature rises from temperature 25 ◦ C
to 800 ◦ C, the value of fm decreases from 11.78 to 9.53 GHz, and the EAB
value increases from over 0.71 to 1.52 GHz. From the above
S. Zhao et al. Ceramics International 47 (2021) 17337–17344

Fig. 5. Electric field distributions of the 1.4-mm-thick 30 %wt.TiB2–70 %wt.Al2O3 coating in the 800 ◦ C at (a) 8.2 GHz, (b) 9.53 GHz and (b) 12.4 GHz.

Fig. 6. (a) The impedance Z of coating with x = 0.3 at 1.4 mm in 800 ◦ C; (b) The correlation between temperature and RL of coating; (c) Real part of Z as a function
of the temperature for coating under 25–800 ◦ C. (d) Imaginary part of Z as a function of the temperature for coating under 25–800 ◦ C.

information, it can be observed that ε’ and ε’’ gradually increase with
the increase of temperature, which also decreases the value of fm. For
ideal impedance matching, Z’ approach to 1 and Z’’ approach to 0. As
show in Fig. 6(c) and (d), with the increase of temperature, Z’ is closer to
1 and Z’’ is decreasing toward 0. It can be observed that when the
temperature rises from 400 ◦ C to 800 ◦ C, the value of Z’ and Z’’ does not
change much, which indicates Zin and Z0 can match well in a wide
temperature range. In addition, as described above, as temperature
elevating, the value of tanδ also increases. Accordingly, more incident
electromagnetic waves can come in the coating and then be consumed,
which demonstrates that EAB will be widen with the increase of tem­
perature. The results of other two coatings are illustrated in SI.
In this prepared coating, 30% content of TiB2 is moderate to obtain
the appropriate EM parameters and deduce to the well performed
impedance matching. From a micro point of view, adding proper TiB2
will increase the conductive loss of the coating. In conclusion, the EM
absorption performance of the coating mainly depends on its micro­
structure. Firstly, the XRD pattern of variable temperature, mentioned
earlier, shows that the two materials will not react at high temperature,
which is crucial for EM absorption. In the design, TiB2 is dispersed in
Al2O3 as an absorbent with high ε’ and ε’’. The combination of these two
materials creates a new effective medium with excellent absorption
performance. Therefore, no chemical reaction between them is what the
design hoped for. Secondly, as shown in Fig. 2 (b), the distribution of
TiB2 in Al2O3 is not uniform which leads to localized conductance
connection in different regions and causes interfacial polarization, as
shown in Fig. 7 (a). On a macro scale, this shows an increase of the
permittivity, then achieves good impedance matching [40] in the
designed thickness, which allows more EM waves enter the interior of
the coating to be consumed.
There are three cases when Al2O3 and TiB2 are combined, as shown
in Fig. 7 (b), (c) and (d). First, the percentage of Al2O3 is too high, and
TiB2 is unevenly distributed in the former. Therefore, the properties of
each microscopic region are determined by the dominant Al2O3, and the
resistivity between regions is relatively high. Therefore, there is almost
no interface polarization loss, and the triggered conduction loss is also

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Fig. 7. (a) Micro mechanism diagram of electromagnetic absorption of TiB2/Al2O3 Composite Coating; (b) (c) (d) the composition of three different contents of
TiB2/Al2O3.

very small. Second, the ratio of the two is moderate, as shown in Fig. 7
(c). In this case, the conductivity of TiB2 cannot be negligible. At the
same time, due to its uneven distribution in Al2O3 matrix, there are
localized conductance connections with different shapes and sizes in the
mesoscopic or microscopic regions. Therefore, the sample will generate
various electric polarization, as well as interface polarization, which will
lead to energy loss of incident EM wave. Third, when TiB2 content
reaches a certain level, the conductive particles contact each other to
form a conductive network [41], which leads to a rapid increase in
conductivity and complex permittivity. This can cause an impedance
mismatch between the coating and air [37,42]. When EM waves incident
to the surface of the material, more of them are reflected away, resulting
in a weak absorption performance. For TiB2/Al2O3 composite coating,
by adjusting the content of TiB2 and Al2O3, the coating with excellent
high-temperature absorbing properties can be obtained.
Considering the high temperature application environment,
reducing the thickness of the coating can improve the bonding strength
between the parts and prevent tiny cracks between layers, thus
improving thermal shock resistance [43,44]. This will significantly
prolong the service life of the coating in high temperature applications.
Therefore, it would be meaningless to pursue only electromagnetic ab­
sorption performance and ignore the consideration of coating thickness.
In practical application, when the thickness is required to be as thin as
possible, RL < -5 dB is usually set as the expected target. Therefore,
when x = 0.3, the composite coating with a thickness of 1.4 mm is the
most suitable coating for practical application. Its thickness is not only
extremely thin, but also the whole X-band’s RL is below -5 dB at 800 ◦ C.
In order to verify the theoretical RL value at elevated temperature, a
prototype (x = 0.3) was manufactured by APS, as shown in Fig. 8(a).
Then it was heated to 800 ◦ C to measure reflectivity. Fig. 8 (b) exhibits
the comparison between calculated and the measured RL values when
the coating thickness is only 1.4 mm at 800 ◦ C. It can be observed that

Fig. 8. (a) The fabricated sample; (b) A comparison between experimental and simulated result; (c) Measured absorption spectra for the fabricated sample versus
temperature.

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S. Zhao et al.
when RL is less than - 5 dB, the experimental bandwidth can cover
almost the whole X-band. At the same time, the difference between the
experimental value (1.71 GHz) and the theoretical value (1.52 GHz) of
EAB is very subtle. Analogously, the calculated value (-16.98 dB) of
RLmin is close to the measured value (-17.74 dB). The above error can be
attributed to the incomplete uniformity of coating thickness, which
leads to a deviation between theoretical value and measured value.
Besides, the EM absorbing performance of the fabricated prototype
was measured at different temperature, as shown in Fig. 8(c). In sharp
contrast, the frequency value of the measured absorption peak mono­
tonically shifts to lower frequency when the temperature rises from
25 ◦ C to 800 ◦ C. It is worth noting that the bandwidth of RL below -5 dB
almost covered the X-band with a thickness of only 1.4 mm from 400 ◦ C
to 800 ◦ C, which indicates that the RAC has excellent EM absorption
performance in a wide temperature range.
4. Conclusion
In this work, we have proposed a new RAC with excellent EM per­
formance by using refractory ceramics of TiB2 and Al2O3. The coating
was processed through the APS technique. The measured results
demonstrate that, with a thickness of only 1.4 mm, the 30%wt. TiB2 –
70%wt. Al2O3 material achieves a RL of less than -5dB over a wide
temperature range in the almost whole X-band, which consistent well
with the simulated results. In addition, microscopic analysis shows that
when TiB2 content is moderate, it will not only lead to localized
conductance connection in different regions, but also cause various
interfacial polarizations. Macroscopically, the coating shows proper EM
impedance matching, allowing more electromagnetic waves penetrate
and eventually consumed in the coating. The ultra-thin thickness and
thermally stable absorption performance indicate the broad prospect of
this proposed RAC in high temperature applications.
Funding
This work was supported by the Graduate Scientific Research
Foundation of Department of Basic Sciences of Air Force Engineering
University, National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants
61671467 and 61331005) and the National key R&D program of China
(Grant 2017YFA0700201).
Credit authorship contribution statement
Shixin Zhao: Writing - original draft, Formal analysis. Hua Ma:
Writing - original draft, Formal analysis. Tengqiang Shao: Writing -
original draft, Formal analysis. Jun Wang: Writing - original draft,
Formal analysis. Lei Zhang: Formal analysis. Sai Sui: Formal analysis.
Mingde Feng: Formal analysis. Jiafu Wang: Formal analysis. Shaobo Qu:
Formal analysis.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.03.047.
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