Synthesis, characterization and microwave characteristics of ternary nanocomposite of MWCNTs/doped Sr-hexaferrite/PANI

Substituted strontium ferrite (sub-SF) nanoparticles are prepared by a sol-gel method and added to functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The ternary nanocomposite of MWCNTs/sub-SF/polyaniline (PANI) is prepared by in-situ polymerization of aniline on MWCNTs/sub-SF reaction mixture. The morphology, structure and magnetic properties of the nanocomposites are investigated by SEM, XRD, FTIR and VSM, respectively. The microwave characteristics are measured using a vector network analyzer. The XRD patterns exhibit representative diffraction peaks corresponding to hexagonal structure, and the structure of the MWCNTs is not distorted. SEM micrographs show that sub-SF nanoparticles and PANI chains are uniformly dispersed on the surface of MWCNTs. The MWCNTs/sub-SF/PANI exhibit a minimum reflection loss of -26 dB at 10 GHz with 3 GHz bandwidth and a matching thickness of 5 mm. This excellent microwave characteristic indicates the synergistic effect of the three components to enhance the impedance matching and improve the microwave absorption properties of the composite.