Microwave absorption properties of porous

activated carbon-based palm oil empty fruit

bunch
Cite as: AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0128960
Submitted: 02 October 2022 • Accepted: 30 October 2022 • Published Online: 17 November 2022

Nidya Chitraningrum, Resti Marlina, Ria Yolanda Arundina, et al.

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AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0128960 12, 115024

© 2022 Author(s).
 AIP Advances ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/adv

Microwave absorption properties of porous

activated carbon-based palm oil
empty fruit bunch
Cite as: AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
Submitted: 2 October 2022 • Accepted: 30 October 2022 •
Published Online: 17 November 2022

Nidya Chitraningrum,1,a) Resti Marlina,1 Ria Yolanda Arundina,2 Ester Rimma Suryani Togatorop,2
3 3
Sulistyaningsih, Hana Arisesa, Ismail Budiman,1,4 Pamungkas Daud,3 and Mohammad Hamzah1

AFFILIATIONS
1
Research Center for Biomass and Bioproduct, National Research and Innovation Agency, BRIN, Bogor 16911, Indonesia
2
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia
3
Research Center for Telecommunication, National Research and Innovation Agency, BRIN, Bandung 40135, Indonesia
4
Research Collaboration Center for Biomass-Based Nano Cosmetic, Collaboration Mulawarman University and BRIN,
Samarinda 75123, Indonesia

a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: nidy001@brin.go.id

ABSTRACT
The increased growth of electronics and wireless communication systems causes the urge to find microwave absorbing materials that are
lightweight, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly. In this study, we successfully synthesize activated carbon materials from the oil palm
empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) as future microwave absorbing material candidates with a porous structure using different kalium hydroxide
(KOH) concentrations during the activation process followed by physical carbonization at 800 ○ C under an inert atmosphere. The pre-
pared porous activated carbon (PAC)-based OPEFB was characterized by several techniques, including x-ray diffraction, scanning electronic
microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The microwave absorption properties of the PAC-based
OPEFB were measured using one port rectangular waveguides at the X-band frequency range (from 8 to 12 GHz). A minimum reflection
loss value of −32.21 dB (more than 99.9% absorption) at 10.64 GHz is obtained for the PAC-based OPEFB with 20% of KOH concentration.
The SEM observations confirm the porous structure of activated carbon, and the BET analysis measures the surface area of the PAC-based
OPEFB with 20% of KOH concentration of about 693.06 m2 /g. The improvement of reflection loss of the PAC-based OPEFB compared to its
raw materials is attributed to the better impedance matching, and multiple reflections occur in the porous structure of activated carbon. This
study suggests that the PAC-based OPEFB can become a future potential material for microwave absorbers used in electronics and wireless
communications devices.
© 2022 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0128960

I. INTRODUCTION
Most wireless communication and electronics systems oper-
ate at high frequency (about 500 MHz to 5 GHz), which is
in the range of the radio frequency and microwave frequency
band.1–3 The high demand for more modern and advanced tech-
nology led to the higher use of microwaves. The excessive use
of microwaves causes severe problems of electromagnetic interfer-
ence (EMI) that may not only damage the function of electronic
device components but will also negatively affect human health.4–6
Therefore, it is urgent to find an effective and efficient microwave
absorber material to minimalize the EMI problems. An effective and
efficient absorber material that is more desirable should satisfy some
criteria, such as low cost, lightweight, high reflection loss, less thick-
ness, and broad absorption frequency bandwidth.7–9 Commercial RF
and microwave absorbers are nowadays fabricated from synthetic
materials of polystyrene and polyurethane, which are expensive.
Magnetic metals, ferrites, and alloys are also usually used as conven-
tional microwave absorbing materials due to their strong magnetic
loss and broad absorption frequency bandwidth, but they require
a thick coating process and large densities. Therefore, these mate-
rials cannot satisfy the lightweight requirement for the desired
absorber material. Recently, carbon materials such as graphene, car-
bon nanotubes, porous carbon fiber, and nanowires have attracted

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© Author(s) 2022
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much attention to be applied for microwave absorber materials
due to their excellent absorption properties related to high surface
area, thermal stability, good conductivity, corrosion resistance, and
lightweight.10–13 Nevertheless, those carbon materials require a com-
plicated preparation process and has a relatively expensive cost of
production. Hence, it needs to explore a microwave absorber with a
natural material that is an abundant resource and able to reduce the
fabrication cost.
Agricultural waste, a residue from agricultural production,
has been selected to be used as microwave absorber materials
(MAMs). Agricultural waste is lignocellulosic-rich, with almost
half of the components containing carbon. MAMs made from
agricultural waste should be lightweight, environmentally friendly,
and of low-cost. The oil palm empty fruit bunch is an agricul-
tural waste produced from the oil palm industry with almost
50.67 wt % composed of carbon elements.14 Modification to the
oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) waste is needed to improve
its microwave absorption ability; therefore, this OPEFB waste can
replace conventional carbon materials. The conversion of agri-
cultural waste to activated carbon with a larger surface area is
carried out through the carbonization and activation processes.15
Carbonization involves the heat treatment of agricultural waste
with the presence of a low amount of or no oxygen. Activation of
agricultural waste involves the reaction between the carbon compo-
nent and a chemical activating agent such as potassium hydroxide
(KOH),16 phosphoric acid (H3 PO4 ),17 nitric acid (HNO3 ),18 sodium
hydroxide (NaOH),19 etc. The carbonization of OPEFB raw
materials is divided into two steps: preliminary hydrothermal
carbonization and physical carbonization after chemical activa-
tion. The preliminary hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process
involves agricultural waste heated in an aqueous environment to
produce hydrochar under autogenous pressure at a temperature of
about 180–220 ○ C, while physical carbonization will decompose the
agricultural waste material at elevated temperatures under an inert
atmosphere at relatively high temperatures (about 500–900 ○ C).
Mbarki et al. showed that activated carbon from Corn Stigmata with
a preliminary HTC process has a higher carbon content, carbon
yield, and surface area.20 The porous structure will form during the
activation and physical carbonization. Recent studies also indicated
that the porous structure of activated carbon from agricultural waste
shows a significant improvement compared to microwave absorp-
tion properties.21,22 The exploration and engineering of activated
AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
© Author(s) 2022
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carbon would be an essential development to produce a lightweight,
low-cost, environmentally friendly microwave absorber based on
agricultural waste.
In this article, we prepared activated carbon derived from the
OPEFB via the pretreatment process of hydrothermal carbonization,
followed by KOH activation and physical carbonization, and inves-
tigated their microwave absorption properties. The change in the
crystal structure of the OPEFB cellulose into amorphous activated
carbon is proved by XRD measurement. The porous activation
carbon is confirmed by the SEM image, and the surface area of the
porous activated carbon OPEFB with 20% of KOH concentration
is 693.06 m2 /g. We observe an improvement in thez minimum
reflection loss value, which is associated with the morphology
transformation of the OPEFB into the porous structure. The
optimized porous activated carbon OPEFB exhibits strong
microwave absorption, with the reflection loss value reaching
about −32.21 dB at 10.64 GHz for the activation carbon OPEFB
with 20% KOH concentration compared to the reflection loss of
the hydrochar OPEFB of about −2.69 dB at the same frequency.
Therefore, the porous activated carbon derived from the OPEFB
has great potential to be lightweight, eco-friendly, and efficient
microwave absorber materials.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Materials
The oil palm fruit bunch (OPEFB) in this study was obtained
from the local palm oil plantation at Riau Province, Sumatra,
Indonesia. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) (analytical grade, Merck,
CAS No: 1310-58-3) is used as activating agent, and hydrochloric
acid (HCl) (analytical grade, Merck CAS No: 7647-01-0) is used to
neutralize the process.
B. Activated carbon OPEFB preparation
The OPEFB raw material was first washed using water to
remove the sticky dirt. Then, the cleaned OPEFB was dried in
an oven at a temperature of 105 ○ C for 24 h. The transformation
process to modify the raw material OPEFB into the activated car-
bon OPEFB involves three carbonization processes, as shown in
Fig. 1. First, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) was carried out
to form the hydrochar OPEFB using a digester reactor with the
FIG. 1. Schematic representation of the
carbonization processes from the raw
material of the OPEFB to obtain the
activated carbon OPEFB.
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 AIP Advances
help of water. The raw material OPWFB and water at a weight
ratio of 1:20 were mixed in the digester reactor under autogenous
pressure at 180 ○ C for 8 h. After the HTC process, the solid prod-
uct of the OPEFB hydrochar is filtered and dried in an oven at
105 ○ C for 24 h for further carbonization. The second stage of the
carbonization process includes the chemical activation and physical
carbonization processes. KOH solution with different concentra-
tions (10%, 20%, and 40% in weight) is mixed using a hot plate
magnetic stirrer. The carbon precursor is neutralized by soaking in
1M HCl and then washed with water until the pH of the carbon
precursor is near neutral. Finally, the as-prepared samples were put
into the tube furnace and annealed at 800 ○ C for 2 h under a N2
atmosphere. The as-prepared activated carbon with 10%, 20%, and
40% KOH concentration is denoted as PAC10, PAC20, and PAC40,
respectively.
C. Characterization
The change in crystal structure after the hydrothermal
carbonization, activation, and physical carbonization processes was
analyzed using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD of the raw
OPEFB material, hydrochar OPEFB, and activated carbon with dif-
ferent KOH concentrations was conducted using a SHIMADZU
7000 series with Cu-Kα radiation (λ = 0.154 Å), a supply voltage
of 40 kV, and a current of 30 mA. The morphology and microstruc-
ture of the hydrochar and activated carbon were studied by
field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) JEOL JSM
6360 LA—20 kV). The elemental content of the hydrochar and
activated carbon was identified using an energy-dispersive x-ray
spectroscope (EDS Detector EDAX Genesis). A BET (Brunauer,
Emmet, and Teller) analysis of the activated carbon OPEFB with
AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
© Author(s) 2022
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20 % KOH concentration to identify the surface area of activated
carbon was conducted using a Micromeritics TriStar II 3020.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) was conducted to determine the crys-
talline structure of the samples [raw OPEFB, hydrochar OPS, and
activated carbon with 20 % of KOH concentration using powder
x-ray diffraction (XRD, SHIMADZU 7000 series) equipped with
Cu-Kα radiation (λ = 0.15406 Å), a supply voltage of 40 kV, and a
current of 30 mA]. The step size was set at 0.025○ from 10○ to 80○ .
The microstructure and morphology of the activated carbon OPEFB
were identified by field emission scanning electron microscopy
(FE-SEM, Thermo Scientific Quadtro). The SEM analysis is com-
pleted with an EDS detector to determine the elemental content
before and after activation and carbonization processes.
The microwave absorption properties of the as-prepared acti-
vated carbon with different KOH concentrations, hydrochar, and
raw OPEFB material were measured within an X-band range of
8–12 GHz through a one-port vector network analyzer (VNA,
Anritsu MS46322A) connected to a computer, as shown in Fig. 2(a).
The waveguide used in this experiment is WR90, and the dimension
of the samples is fit with the dimension of the WR90 waveguide,
as shown in Fig. 2(b) of the front side view of the WR90 wave-
guide. The metal back plate is used to prevent the transmission
of a microwave. As depicted in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b), the sample
under test is placed between the WR90 waveguide and metal back
plate. Therefore, the microwave characterization only depends on
the reflection of incident microwave propagation into the medium
(samples), known as the S11 parameter. The S11 parameter deter-
mines the materials’ ability to reflect or absorb an electromagnetic
wave, which in this case is a microwave. The S11 parameter is
also called the reflection loss. In this work, the microwave absorp-
tion properties of samples are analyzed from the reflection loss
FIG. 2. (a) Experimental setup to mea-
sure the scattering parameter S11 using
one port of the VNA measurement. The
sample under test (SUT) was placed
between the metal surface and the rect-
angular waveguide (WR90). (b) The side
and front view of the rectangular wave-
guide and sample dimension fit in the
waveguide.
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 AIP Advances
of the samples after microwave irradiation within the X-band
frequency range.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The crystal structure of the raw OPEFB, hydrochar OPEFB, and
activated carbon OPEFB with different KOH concentrations was
examined using XRD, and the XRD pattern is presented in Fig. 3.
We observe different XRD patterns for the raw, hydrochar, and
PAC OPEFB materials. The difference in the XRD peak indicates
crystal structure change after the hydrothermal carbonization pro-
cess and after the activation and physical carbonization processes
are completed. From Fig. 3, it can be seen that the raw OPEFB
shows peaks around 15.82○ and 22.43○ , which are the represen-
tative peaks of polymorph cellulose type I with lattice planes of
101 and 002, respectively.23 The peak of 15.82○ and 22.4○ of the
hydrochar OPEFB gets sharper, indicating the removal of an amor-
phous component of cellulose including hemicellulose and lignin,
as studied by Maeda et al.24 The shoulder peak of 22.43○ in the
hydrochar OPEFB indicates that polymorph cellulose type I is trans-
formed into polymorph cellulose type II,25 which is more stable
than polymorph type I due to the hydrothermal carbonization pro-
cess at 180 ○ C for 8 h. The XRD pattern of PAC10, PAC20, and
PAC40 shows no obvious peak in the range of 10○ to 25○ , indi-
cating that the crystalline structure of cellulose has been changed
into an amorphous cellulose structure. This result agrees with the
study by Leng et al.,26 where the amorphous structure cellulose
is formed due to the breakdown of inter- and intra-molecular
hydrogen bonds of crystalline cellulose under physical carbonization
(T > 240 ○ C).
Figures 4(a)–4(f) illustrate the surface morphology of the SUT
with different magnifications. Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the SEM
images of the hydrochar OPEFB with a magnification of ×20k and
×35k, respectively. As seen in these figures, no pore was observed
in the hydrochar OPEFB, but the hydrochar OPEFB shows a rough
surface. This rough surface of the hydrochar OPEFB is attributed to
FIG. 3. X-ray diffractogram of raw materials, hydrochar, and activated carbon of
the OPEFB with 10%, 20%, and 40% of KOH concentration.
AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
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the degradation of lignocellulosic components in the OPEFB, such
as hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin at the surface of the OPEFB.
This similar hydrochar morphology is reported by Fan et al.27
under a hydrothermal carbonization temperature of 180 ○ C. As
hydrothermal carbonization increases, small pores start to be formed
due to the removal process of volatile matter in raw materials.
Figures 4(c)–4(f) show the morphology of PAC10 and PAC20 under
20k and 35k of magnification, respectively. At low KOH concentra-
tions, the pore begins to form on the surface of OPEFB materials.
As depicted in Figs. 4(c) and 4(d), the size of the pore of PAC10 is
smaller than that of PAC20 [Figs. 4(e) and 4(f)]. The pore in PAC
is formed due to the reaction of KOH with the carbon element in
OPEFB materials, as follows:
6KOH + 2C → 2K2 CO3 + 2K + 3H2 ,
K2 CO3 + 2C → 2K + 3CO,
K2 O + C → 2K + CO,
K2 CO3 → K2 O + CO2 ,
CO2 + C → 2CO.
The intercalation of the potassium (K) element into the C car-
bon layer produces the final gas products, such as CO2 and CO,
which form pores on the OPEFB surface. As the KOH concentration
increases, more pores are formed, as shown in Figs. 4(c) and 4(d).
The washing process uses HCl, and water is used for the purpose of
removing other chemical potassium elements such as K2 O, K2 CO3 ,
and K elements. The elemental EDX spectrum analysis is performed
to investigate the content elements of the hydrochar and activated
carbon OPEFB materials, as shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5,
the carbon elements increased from that of the hydrochar OPEFB.
The raw OPEFB is around 50.57 wt %, as obtained by a previous
study.14 The carbon content of the hydrochar, PAC10, and PAC20 is
74.7%, 84.4%, and 84.4%, respectively. The carbon element content
in PAC10 and PAC20 is of the same amount, but the other element
is different. The increase in the carbon content in PAC compared
to that in the hydrochar OPEFB indicates that the PAC is more sta-
ble than the hydrochar OPEFB. The KOH activation and physical
carbonization are applied to activate the pores of the PAC OPEFB
material, either mesopores or micropores, and to increase its surface
area, and they are expected to improve their microwave absorption
capability.
The pore characterization of PAC is identified using BET
measurement. The BET surface area and total pore volume of PAC20
are 693.06 m2 /g and 0.34076 cm3 /g, respectively. The N2 adsorp-
tion isotherms of PAC20 obtained from BET measurement are
depicted in Fig. 6. According to the International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) classification, the curve in Fig. 6 is a
type IV isotherm, which indicates PAC20 has a mesoporous struc-
ture. The pore diameter of PAC20 is 4.36 nm, confirming the type
IV isotherm of PAC20. The inset in Fig. 6 shows the differential
pore volume change to pore width. The peak is below 40 nm, which
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FIG. 4. Scanning electron microscopy image of the prepared samples under various magnifications: (a) and (b) the hydrochar OPEFB with a magnification of 20kx and 35kx,
respectively, (c) and (d) PAC10 with a magnification of 20kx and 35kx, respectively, and (e) and (f) PAC20 with a magnification of 20kx and 35kx, respectively.

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FIG. 5. EDX spectrum of (a) hydrochar and of (b) PAC10 and (c) PAC20 with different KOH concentrations.

confirmed the mesoporous structure of PAC20. The previous study on the reflection and absorption of the EM wave in the material. The
by Shang et al.28 found that the mesoporous structure of CoFe2 O4 scattering parameter obtained in one port VNA measurement is only
plays an essential role in the enhancement of microwave absorbing the S11 parameter, that is, the ratio between the reflected power to
performance of the material. The mesoporous structure gives bet- the incident power of the EM wave. The larger S11 parameter value
ter impedance matching, larger microwave attenuation, and higher means the smaller reflected EM wave or the larger absorption of the
multiple reflections of the incident microwave that will contribute to EM wave by a material. The S11 parameter is also known as reflec-
the higher minimum reflection loss value. tion loss (RL), which is defined according to the transmission line
To confirm the microwave absorbing performance of the meso- theory as
porous structure of PAC compared to the hydrochar or raw OPEFB,
Zin − Z0
we performed one-port VNA measurements in the X-band fre- RL = −20 log∣ ∣, (1)
quency range. In general, when an electromagnetic (EM) wave is Zin + Z0
incident on the surface of a material, the wave may be reflected, √
absorbed, and transmitted. In one port VNA measurement, there μr √
Zin = tanh∣−j(2πfd/c μr εr )∣, (2)
is no transmission of EM waves, so the EM wave will only depend εr

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FIG. 6. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K of PAC20 and (inset)
differential pore volume vs pore diameter of PAC20.
where Zin and Z0 are the input impedance of SUT and impedance
of free space, respectively, while f , c, and d are the microwave
frequency, the velocity of light, and the thickness of SUT,
respectively. μr and εr are the relative complex permeability and
permittivity related to a material’s magnetic and dielectric proper-
ties, respectively.
Figure 7 presents the minimum reflection loss for several SUTs,
including the raw OPEFB, hydrochar, and PAC with different KOH
concentrations (10%, 20%, and 40% weight). The minimum RL with
the corresponding frequency bandwidth is presented in Table I.
A candidate microwave absorber material must achieve the min-
imum RL below than −10 dB, which means more than 90% of
the microwave energy is absorbed by a material.29 From Fig. 7
and Table I, we can observe that the minimum RL for the raw
FIG. 7. Reflection loss (RL) characteristics of the prepared samples include raw the
OPEFB material, OPEFB hydrochar, and PAC-based OPEFB with various KOH
concentrations.
AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
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TABLE I. Microwave absorption properties of the hydrochar OPEFB and activated
carbon OPEFB with several KOH concentrations (10%, 20%, and 40% weight).
Min. Frequency
Sample Frequency Reflection Reflection bandwidth
name (GHz) loss (dB) coefficient (r) (dB)
Raw OPEFB 11.7 −11.4 0.2691 0.1
Hydrochar OPEFB 11.66 −14 0.1995 0.14
PAC10 10.24 −20.44 0.095 0.26
PAC20 10.64 −32.21 0.024 0.86
PAC40 10.62 −29.18 0.035 0.8
OPEFB has not reached −11.4 dB at a frequency of 11.7 GHz
and frequency bandwidth of 0.1 GHz. The hydrochar OPEFB also
shows a similar RL trend to the raw OPEFB, except the mini-
mum RL of 14 dB is observed at a frequency of 11.66 GHz and
frequency bandwidth of 0.14. These raw and hydrochar materials
are still not suitable to be applied as microwave absorbing mate-
rials. After the raw OPEFB transforms into PAC through KOH
activation and physical carbonization, the minimum RL is sig-
nificantly increased. The optimum minimum RL is achieved for
PAC20 where the minimum RL is −32.21 dB at frequency of 10.64,
which means PAC20 absorbs 99.9% of microwave energy, and
the frequency bandwidth is broader, to 0.86 GHz. Increasing the
minimum RL of PAC is associated with the PAC’s mesoporous
structure.
According to the transmission line theory as defined in Eqs. (1)
and (2), the RL of the absorber material is dependent on two factors:
(1) the impedance matching (the match between input impedance
Zin and free space impedance Z0 ) and (2) the dielectric and mag-
netic properties of the absorber material. An ideal microwave
absorber material must possess multiple loss mechanisms, strong
microwave attenuation, and perfect impedance matching. PAC’s
mesoporous structure can be considered as a composite compris-
ing solid and air components. The increase in pore volume in
PAC will reduce the effective permittivity of the OPEFB that con-
tributes to the increased connection to the free space (air); there-
fore, the input impedance Zin is close to the free space impedance
(Zin /Z0 ∼ 1). In addition, the porous structure can increase the
dielectric loss induced through polarization relaxation.30 Multiple
polarizations including dipolar and interface polarization are also
responsible for the enhancement of EM wave absorption in the
frequency range of 2–18 GHz, as studied by Zhao et al.31 When
a microwave enters the porous material, the solid–void interface
can generate more interface polarization, leading to higher polar-
ization loss that enhances the microwave attenuation to improve
the microwave absorbing properties of the PAC material. More-
over, the solid–void interface in the PAC material can increase
the microwave attenuation properties through multiple reflections
and scatterings of the microwave, which would then dissipate into
heat. In this experiment, we observed the improvement in the min-
imum RL value in the PAC OPEFB material compared to the raw
or hydrochar OPEFB material, as shown in Fig. 7. Our observa-
tion is in agreement with the previously studied one where the
enhancement of microwave absorption properties in PAC materials
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contributes to the mesoporous structure inducing polarization loss
of microwaves.
The porous structure of the material plays an essential role
in improving the microwave absorption properties of agricultural
waste materials. Further investigation is needed to optimize the
microwave absorption performance of the OPEFB material, such
as modifying the pore size or adding some magnetic particles to
the raw OPEFB material. Huang et al.32 reported the microwave
absorption properties of porous carbon with tunable morpholo-
gies and pore size. They found that when the pore morphologies
transform into uniform-cage pores from disordered slit-shape pores,
they will extend the propagation way and dissipate more energy
inside the cage, resulting in strong microwave attenuation. In addi-
tion, to achieve multiple polarization losses and give the synergistic
effect of dielectric loss and magnetic loss, magnetic particles are
sometimes incorporated into the porous activated carbon to enhance
the microwave absorption performance. Fang et al.33 studied the
addition effect of magnetic particles on rice husk-based porous
carbon material to the EM wave attenuation. They found that the
dielectric loss and magnetic loss can induce the attenuation of EM
waves through multiple reflections and scatterings inside the porous
structure. With the advanced modification and further investigation,
the PAC-derived OPEFB materials can be a promising candidate as
microwave absorber materials in the future.
IV. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, porous activated carbon materials derived
from the agricultural waste of the oil palm empty fruit bunch were
synthesized by hydrothermal carbonization pretreatment followed
by KOH activation and physical carbonization processes. The
improvement in microwave absorption properties occurs in porous
activated carbon with all KOH concentrations (10 %, 20 %, or 40 %
in weight). PAC20 shows the most excellent microwave absorption
performance in which the minimum reflection loss value reaches
−32.21 dB at 10.64 GHz compared to that of the raw OPEFB
or hydrochar OPEFB materials (below the threshold value of
−10 dB). We correlated the improvement of reflection loss values
to the formation of the porous structure after the KOH activation
and further physical carbonization. The porous structure improves
the surface area of PAC20 to 693.06 m2 /g with a pore diameter
of 4.36 nm. We attributed the improvement of PAC’s microwave
absorption properties to the improved microwave attenuation
and better impedance matching. The large surface area of PAC20
increases the interface polarization loss to attenuate microwave
energy. In addition, the solid-cavity formation optimized the
impedance matching in PAC materials. Furthermore, this work
ensures that the PAC derived from OPEFB waste has the poten-
tial to be applied as a microwave absorber material in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank BRIN (National Research
and Innovation Agency, Indonesia) for funding support through
the Rumah Program Material Maju. The authors also acknowl-
edge the facilities and scientific and technical support provided
by the Research Center for Telecommunication, the Advanced
Characterization Laboratories Cibinong—Integrated Laboratory
AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960
© Author(s) 2022
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of Bioproduct, the Advanced Characterization Laboratories Ser-
pong, and the National Research and Innovation Agency through
E-Layanan Sains Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional. Finally, the
authors would like to thank Mrs. Ardita Septiani from Research
Center for Advanced Materials, National Research and Innova-
tion Agency, Indonesia, for helping the authors with the VNA
measurement.
BRIN (National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia)
supported the research reported in this publication through the
Rumah Program Material Maju.
AUTHOR DECLARATIONS
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Author Contributions
Nidya Chitraningrum: Conceptualization (equal); Data curation
(equal); Resources (equal); Supervision (equal); Writing – original
draft (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal). Resti Marlina:
Investigation (equal). Ria Yolanda Arundina: Investigation (equal).
Ester Rimma Suryani Togatorop: Investigation (equal); Resources
(equal). Sulistyaningsih: Investigation (equal). Hana Arisesa:
Investigation (equal); Resources (equal). Ismail Budiman: Inves-
tigation (equal); Resources (equal); Software (equal). Pamungkas
Daud: Investigation (equal); Resources (equal). Mohammad
Hamzah: Investigation (equal); Resources (equal).
DATA AVAILABILITY
The data that support the findings of this study are available
from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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AIP Advances 12, 115024 (2022); doi: 10.1063/5.0128960 12, 115024-9

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