Comparative study of microwave absorption characteristics of (Polyaniline/NiZn ferrite) nanocomposites with different ferrite percentages

We present the preparation of polyaniline/Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (PANI/NiZn ferrite) nanocomposite. The preparation process consists of two steps: First, the ferrite is synthesized by self-combustion technique using sucrose as fuel. Then, the process is continued by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of the ferrite. Three different weight ratios of PANI/NiZn ferrite (1:2, 1:1, and 2:1) are prepared and structurally characterized by SEM, XRD, FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The functional characterization is performed by measuring the dc-conductivity, and microwave absorption characteristics in the range (8-12 GHz). XRD patterns prove the formation of the spinel ferrite, while SEM analysis indicates that the change in PANI/NiZn ferrite ratio has an effect on the morphology, which eventually influences the microwave absorption characteristics of the composite. A maximum reflection loss of -39.56 dB at 11.0 GHz with a matching thickness of 2.5 mm and a bandwidth of 3.0 GHz is obtained for PANI/NiZn ferrite having a weight ratio of 1:1 with only 25%w/w load in paraffin. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.