Combined use of lightweight magnetic Fe3O4-coated hollow glass spheres and electrically conductive reduced graphene oxide in an epoxy matrix for microwave absorption

Epoxy resin based lightweight composites comprising Fe3O4-coated hollow glass spheres (HGS@Fe3O4) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were prepared. Impedance matching condition and electromagnetic wave attenuation characteristic are used for analysis of the reflection loss (RL) performance of the composites. Compared with pure HGS@Fe3O4 and RGO composite, the 10 dB absorption bandwidth and the minimum RL of the hybrid composites are enhanced. RL values less than -10 dB are obtained in a wide frequency range and the corresponding bandwidth can reach up to 3.6 GHz when an appropriate absorber thickness is chosen. The density of the hybrid composite is in the range of 0.57-0.72 g/cm(3), which is attractive candidate for a new type of lightweight microwave absorber. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.