The enhanced dielectric from basalt fibers/nickel core-shell structures synthesized by electroless plating

Basalt fibers/nickel core-shell structures were synthesized by an electroless plating approach at low temperature. The core-shell structures were characterized by means of SEM images and their components were analyzed using EDS, XRD and XPS. The results showed that the surfaces of basalt fibers were coated with a continuous and uniform nickel shells. More importantly, it was found that the microwave absorption properties of the basalt fibers/nickel core-shell structures in X band were much better than that of the naked basalt fibers. The possible mechanism of the enhanced dielectric response was discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.