Machine Learning‐Optimized Electromagnetic Wave Absorption in Metal/C Nanocomposites
Traditional carbon-based electromagnetic wave absorbers suffer from limited tunability due to the intricate coupling of multiple synthesis parameters, hindering the rational design of high-performance materials. Herein, we apply a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) performance in Metal/C Nanocomposites. Over three generations of GA evolution, five key synthesis parameters-carbon precursor type, metal type, molar ratio of carbon precursor to metal ions, carbonization temperature, and filler loading ratio (wt.%)-are simultaneously tuned. Progressive optimization enhances the Enhanced Absorption Band (EAB) from an initial average of 1.24 to 4.08 GHz, while the minimal reflection loss (RL<sub>min</sub>) improves from -20.29 to -41.9 dB. The champion sample achieves a remarkable RL<sub>min</sub> of -25.9 dB at 7.04 GHz with an EAB of 7.56 GHz. Random Forest and XGBoost models further quantify parameter importance, consistently identifying carbon precursor type (32.5% and 31.4%) and filler loading ratio (33% and 38.4%) as the dominant factors-validating the GA-driven optimization pathway. This work demonstrates the potential of evolutionary algorithms in materials design and provides a transferable framework for high-performance EWA materials.
Authors
- Jinghui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9285-4817)
- Aming Xie
- Weijin Li
- Ruru Gao
- Wei Dong
Institutions
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-01-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202512367
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Electromagnetic wave absorption materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.44
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China