Manufacturing advanced absorbers is an effective way to deal with the greater electromagnetic pollution challenges associated with the application of 5G technology. While reasonable morphology design is an efficacious method to improve the absorption performance of the absorber. Herein, a serie/s of Co-based spinel Co3O4/ACo(2)O(4) (A = Ni, Cu, Zn) were successfully synthesized via a facile PVP-assisted hydrothermal method. It is worth mentioning that the Co3O4/ZnCo2O4 with MXene-like laminated structure was synthesized successfully for the first time (to our knowledge) by changing the type of elements in A position. The EAB of MXene-like laminated Co3O4/ZnCo2O4 absorber can reach 6.24 GHz (from 11.6 to 17.84 GHz) with a matching thickness of 2.62 mm. This excellent performance can be attributed to the multiple scattering, interfacial polarization, and polarization induced by lattice defects and oxygen vacancies (the dominant). This work offers a novel pattern for improving the EMW absorption ability of pure spinel by manufacturing MXene-like laminated Co-based spinel and adjusting annealing temperature reasonably. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.