Nitrogen-doped Co-C/MWCNTs nanocomposites derived from bimetallic metal–organic frameworks for electromagnetic wave absorption in the X-band

•Bimetallic MOFs-derived N-doped porous Co-C/MWCNTs nanocomposites were synthesized.•N doping and formed in situ CNTs contributed to the electromagnetic absorption.•Additive amounts of MWCNTs had notable influence on the electromagnetic absorption.•Minimum reflection loss reached −50.0 dB with a low filler loading ratio of 25 wt%.•Effective absorption bandwidth achieved 4.3 GHz with a thin thickness of 1.8 mm.