{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T05:27:42Z","timestamp":1786426062914,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines","award":["2023-JSKSSYS-11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-JSKSSYS-11"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["52178253"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52178253"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["52178253"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52178253"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Electromagnetic wave absorption ability and mechanical strength are critical performance metrics for cement-based microwave-absorbing materials. Enhancing electromagnetic wave absorption efficiency typically involves the incorporation of functional phases and optimization of pore structures. However, these modifications often introduce challenges, such as interfacial incompatibility between the functional phase and cement matrix, and reduced material density, which can compromise mechanical integrity. This study presents a structurally engineered, high-performance cement-based microwave-absorbing material fabricated from solid waste materials. By leveraging the poor interfacial compatibility between rubber powder and cement paste, the material achieves increased porosity, thereby improving impedance matching. Additionally, the presence of abundant dielectric and magnetic components in slag significantly enhances electromagnetic wave dissipation. Through the synergistic tuning of impedance matching and dissipation capacity, the cement-based microwave-absorbing material demonstrates a substantial improvement in electromagnetic wave absorption, with the absolute value of its reflection loss increasing by 2.8 times after CO2 curing. Furthermore, the application of CO2 curing technology facilitates the transformation of alkaline compounds such as Ca(OH)2 into CaCO3, resulting in notable gains in mechanical performance\u2014compressive strength and flexural strength are elevated by 38% and 23%, respectively. This work not only achieves a balanced optimization of electromagnetic wave absorption and mechanical robustness in cement-based materials but also offers a sustainable pathway for the high-value utilization of industrial solid waste.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18161942","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:00:43Z","timestamp":1786118443000},"page":"1942","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Carbonation-Cured Cementitious Materials Incorporating Waste Rubber\/Slag with Balanced Mechanical Strength and Microwave Absorption Performance"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Xuemin","family":"Zeng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Metal Mining Safety and Disaster Prevention and Control, Maanshan 243000, China"},{"name":"School of Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243032, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6534-1952","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongping","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Metal Mining Safety and Disaster Prevention and Control, Maanshan 243000, China"},{"name":"School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pan","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sichuan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Functional Development and Application of High Performance Special Textile Materials, Chengdu Textile College, Chengdu 611731, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laibao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials and Chemistry, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9955-1704","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xian","family":"Jian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3657-8360","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaoshuang","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Failure Mechanics & Engineering Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Architecture & Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2718-544X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Youhong","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingyuan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China"},{"name":"Failure Mechanics & Engineering Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Architecture & Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127221","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2022.127221","article-title":"Mechanical properties and electromagnetic absorption characteristics of foam Cement-based absorbing materials","volume":"330","author":"Bai","year":"2022","journal-title":"Constr. 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