NiFe2O4 clusters on the surface of reduced graphene oxide and their excellent microwave absorption properties

Novel composites composed of NiFe2O4 clusters and reduced graphene oxide were synthesized by using polyethylene oxide as a structure directing reagent and the microwave absorption properties of NiFe2O4 clusters-reduced graphene oxide (c-NiFe2O4/RGO) were investigated. The results indicate that NiFe2O4 clusters with diameters in the range of 40-70 nm are composed of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 3 to 5 nm. The microwave adsorption properties show that the maximum reflection loss of c-NiFe2O4/RGO is up to -47.3 dB at 11.9 GHz and the absorption bandwidth with the reflection loss below -10 dB is 4.7 GHz with a thickness of 2.5 mm. The excellent microwave absorption properties of c-NiFe2O4/RGO can be used as an attractive candidate for the new type of microwave absorptive materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.