Preparation, electromagnetic and enhanced microwave absorption properties of Fe nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes

Using hollow Fe2O3 particles as the catalyst, the core/shell structured Fe/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid could be synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition method without the hydrogen reduction process. Based on the obtained results, a possible growth mechanism of the Fe/CNT hybrid was discussed. And the investigations of electromagnetic and microwave absorption performances indicate that a minimum reflection loss (RL) value of the obtained sample is ca. -40.15 dB at 17.15 GHz with a matching thickness of 1.5 mm, and the RL value below -20 dB can be obtained in the whole frequency range (1.0-18 GHz) with the sample thickness varies from 1.3 to 10.0 mm. The results demonstrate that a simple and environment-friendly route has been proposed for the production of core/shell structured carbon nanohybrid. The obtained Fe/CNT hybrid exhibits excellent microwave absorption properties and has potential applications in thin thickness and light-weight microwave absorbers. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.