Acoustic absorption of ultralight graphene-based cellular monoliths

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 128; no. 10
• Main Authors: Xie, Ke, Cao, Yang, He, Zijun, Wang, Kangyan, Ding, Jie, MacGillivray, Ian, Skvortsov, Alex, Qiu, Xiaojun, Li, Dan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorptivity; Acoustic absorption; Acoustic properties; Applied physics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Defense industry; Density; Graphene; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials science; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Sound transmission; Sound waves; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thermal insulation; Thin Films; Wave power; Noise damping; Cellular materials; Graphene; Ultra-light materials
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-022-05964-5

Cellular materials with ultralow density (e.g., < 5 mg cm −3 ) are attractive candidates for acoustic applications due to their lightweight and other unique properties. However, it has remained a challenge to fabricate such materials. Here, we synthesized a series of graphene-based cellular monoliths (GMs) with densities from 4.01 to 0.82 mg cm −3 using a facile and cost-effective freeze-casting procedure. The sound absorption behaviors of the ultralight GMs were explored, and the results demonstrate that the GMs with a density over 2.24 mg cm −3 could effectively dissipate the incident sound wave energy with the sound absorption coefficient > 0.8 in a broad frequency of ranges. Together with their high mechanical stability, fire retardancy and thermal insulation capability, GMs may find applications in the domestic, industrial and defence areas.