Hydrothermal self-assembled Fe3O4/CA core-shell composites for broadband microwave absorption

Electromagnetic wave has emerged as a new source of environmental pollution in the daily life. Therefore, the prominent microwave absorbents are urgently needed. In this work, the carbon aerogel and Fe3O4 nanoparticle (Fe3O4/CA) composites with core-shell structure were facilely prepared by a self-assembly process between carbon aerogels and Fe ion under the hydrothermal condition. The microwave absorption performance was significantly enhanced due to the perfect impedance matching and effective interface polarization. Compared with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and carbon aerogels, Fe3O4/CA composites show the advantages of strong microwave absorption and broad absorption bandwidth. The maximum RL value of Fe3O4/CA composites is up to -50.96 dB at 4.80 GHz. And also, the effective absorption bandwidth reaches 3.82 GHz with the thickness of 2 mm.

Automated summary

In this study, carbon aerogel and Fe3O4 nanoparticle composites with core-shell structure were successfully prepared, showing strong microwave absorption and broad absorption bandwidth. The composite material exhibited a very low reflection loss value at 4.80 GHz and a wide effective absorption bandwidth.