Flexible bamboo-based microcapacitance-schottky heterostructures for integrated microwave absorption and self-powered wearable sensing

Structural engineering of electromagnetic wave absorbing (EMWA) materials faces critical challenges in scalable fabrication and multifunctional integration. Herein, a flexible and sustainable bamboo-based composite (BMXMo) featuring engineered microcapacitor-Schottky heterostructures is proposed to synergize ultra-efficient K-band microwave absorption with self-powered health monitoring. The heterostructure is constructed by assembling conductive Ti3C2Tx MXene electrodes and 1T/2H-MoS2 dielectric nanoflowers within a densified bamboo matrix. The heterostructure optimizes impedance matching while enhancing multi-scale polarization via interfacial/dipolar effects and Schottky-modulated charge trapping. The optimized BMXMo55 film exhibits exceptional EMWA performance, with an ultra-high reflection loss of − 52.05 dB and a broad effective absorption bandwidth of 7.95 GHz (covering 18–26 GHz). Moreover, the mechanical flexibility and unique microcapacitor-Schottky structure enable efficient surface charge modulation, allowing the direct fabrication of high-performance triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The resulting BMXMo-TENG devices generate an open-circuit voltage of 81.8 V and a power density of 6.4 µW cm⁻², sufficient to drive commercial electronics. Furthermore, an integrated self-powered sensing system is demonstrated for real-time and precise monitoring of various physiological signals, including respiratory rhythms, joint kinematics, and micromotions. This work pioneers a sustainable platform for multifunctional wearables in electromagnetic-heavy environments, unifying high-efficiency EMWA with autonomous biosensing.