Novel multifunctional ceramic composite: Integrating thermal management to enable dual radar-infrared stealth

When drones navigate complex airspaces and precision electronic devices operate in confined environments, materials are facing an all-round test. They must not only efficiently shield radar signals and conceal infrared signatures, but also insulate against excess heat and resist external impacts. Traditional materials often suffer from severe one-sidedness, failing to balance multiple requirements. Through precision shaping via 3D printing and synergistic multi-material design, innovatively developing multifunctional composite materials may enhance electromagnetic wave absorption performance while achieving excellent thermal buffering—providing core solutions for the protective upgrading of high-end equipment and precision electronics.

Recently, the research team led by Yurun Feng and Xue Guo from Shandong University of Technology has turned its attention to artificial metastructures—specifically the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structure. This structure can optimize impedance matching by tuning electromagnetic parameters at the macroscale, while balancing mechanical strength. Yet how to integrate thermal insulation and infrared stealth functions based on this structure remains a key challenge.

Against this backdrop, the research team selected polysilazane precursors to fabricate the TPMS structure, which meets the forming requirements via a 3D printing process. After high-temperature pyrolysis, the ceramic precursor is converted into inorganic TPMS-SiCN ceramics, which serve as the core material for microwave absorption functionality. To achieve thermal insulation and infrared stealth capabilities, a phase change material (PCM) was introduced—among which paraffin wax was chosen for its excellent latent heat capacity, enabling efficient thermal buffering. Porous SiOC ceramics were integrated between the TPMS-SiCN ceramics and paraffin wax, acting as a bridge between these two materials. The micro/nano pores of the ceramics physically constrain the paraffin wax, thereby reducing leakage during its liquefaction process. Additionally, the porous SiOC ceramics introduce abundant micro/nano interfaces, enhancing electromagnetic wave attenuation through mechanisms such as multiple reflections and scattering.

The composite material developed by the team has successfully achieved multifunctional synergy of the material.

The team published their work in Journal of Advanced Ceramics on August 24, 2025.

“In modern applications such as drones and precision electronic devices, the demand for materials that can provide multiple protective functions is growing. Our composite material exactly meets this demand by integrating three key functions—radar absorption, thermal insulation, and infrared stealth—into a single material. This is crucial for enhancing the survivability and functionality of equipment in complex environments,” said Professor Xue Guo from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, who has long been engaged in research on electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials.

“The final composite material achieves an impressive minimum reflection loss of -31.29 dB. Additionally, we found that the PCM can effectively buffer temperature fluctuations within the composite material. After being continuously heated at 90℃ for 42 minutes, the temperature difference between the composite material and the external thermal load is still maintained at 36.6℃—this unique thermal buffering capability ensures that the material can provide stable thermal insulation performance and reliable infrared stealth performance,” said Xue Guo.

This composite material can maintain its shape stability at a temperature higher than the paraffin solidification-liquefaction transition temperature. The liquid paraffin is effectively encapsulated in the porous microstructure of the sample. “The composite absorbs heat via the phase change of paraffin wax, reduces outward radiated energy, and controls its own surface temperature—thereby achieving the infrared stealth effect. Next, we will experiment with other PCM materials to explore the universality of this method. Our ultimate goal is to apply this technology to practical equipment, making them lighter, smarter, and harder to detect. We also plan to explore other functional integrations in future research, such as self-healing or self-adaptive capabilities,” said Xue Guo.

Other contributors include Chang Liu, Kaidi Mao, Haibin Sun, Qiangqiang Hu, Yurun Feng from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China; Hongyu Gong, Key Laboratory of Special Functional Aggregated Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Paolo Colombo, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Italy.

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (52302100 and 52402125), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2023ME140 and ZR2022QE024), Youth Innovation Team Program in Colleges of Shandong Province (2023KJ144), Innovation Capacity Improvement Project of Small and Medium-Sized Technology-Based Enterprise of Shandong Province (2024TSGC0540) and Key Laboratory of High Temperature Electromagnetic Materials and Structure of MOE, Wuhan University of Science and Technology (KB202405).

About Author

Yurun Feng, graduated from Shandong University and the University of Padova, Italy. She mainly engages in research on electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials, polymer-derived ceramic materials, and ceramic 3D printing. She has presided over 4 research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Youth Fund) and the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Youth Fund); she has also participated in a number of military-related projects such as the Joint Fund of Equipment Pre-research under the Ministry of Education and open research projects of key national defense laboratories. As the first author or corresponding author, she has published more than 20 SCI-indexed papers and obtained 4 authorized invention patents.

Xue Guo, an associate professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shandong University of Technology and a doctoral supervisor, serves as a council member of the Youth Talent Professional Committee of the Shandong Higher Education Talent Research Association. Mainly engaged in the research of electromagnetic functional materials and special ceramics; More than 40 academic papers have been published, 3 national patents have been authorized, 4 standards for the Chinese building materials industry have been formulated (the first one), and the first prize of the scientific and technological Achievement Award of Shandong Materials Society has been won (1/7). In terms of research projects, he has led more than 10 national and provincial-level initiatives, including the National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars, Shandong Province “Youth Innovation Team Plan”, and the Project of the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation. Additionally, he has undertaken 2 open fund projects from key laboratories under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, as well as multiple enterprise horizontal cooperation projects.

About Journal of Advanced Ceramics

Journal of Advanced Ceramics (JAC) is an international academic journal that presents the state-of-the-art results of theoretical and experimental studies on the processing, structure, and properties of advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites. JAC is Fully Open Access, monthly published by Tsinghua University Press, and exclusively available via SciOpen. JAC’s 2024 IF is 16.6, ranking in Top 1 (1/33, Q1) among all journals in “Materials Science, Ceramics” category, and its 2024 CiteScore is 25.9 (5/130) in Scopus database. ResearchGate homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Advanced-Ceramics-2227-8508