Investigations into the microwave shielding behavior of oriented Polycaprolactone/Carbonyl iron particles composites fabricated using magnetic field assisted extrusion 3D printing

In the present study, development of a novel oriented polymeric composite comprising of Polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer and carbonyl iron filler particles (CIP) is presented. Incorporation of permanent magnets into solvent based extrusion 3 D printing set up produced the oriented polymeric composites. The microwave absorption properties of the oriented composite were investigated and compared with non-oriented composite and pristine PCL by utilizing vector network analyzer (VNA) and Nicolson-Ross-Weir (NRW) methodology. Higher values of permeability, permittivity, dielectric loss and magnetic loss of the oriented composite indicated the micro capacitor behaviour and domain wall motion of the parallel aligned CIP chains in the PCL matrix. The reflection and transmission loss values for the oriented composite were found to be -34 dB and -26 dB respectively. The microwave absorption of the oriented PCL/CIP composite was found to be approximately 93% suggesting the efficacy of the 3 D printed oriented composite as an excellent microwave absorber.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel oriented polymeric composite consisting of Polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer and carbonyl iron filler particles (CIP) was developed. By incorporating permanent magnets into a solvent-based extrusion 3D printing setup, the oriented polymeric composites were produced. The microwave absorption properties of the oriented composite were found to be excellent, with approximately 93% microwave absorption rate, indicating its efficacy as a microwave absorber.