Synthesis and Electromagnetic, Microwave Absorbing Properties of Core-Shell Fe3O4-Poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Microspheres

Highly regulated core shell Fe3O4 poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) microspheres were successfully synthesized by a two-step method in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA). And their morphology, microstructure, electromagnetic and microwave absorbing properties were subsequently characterized. By simply adjusting the molar ratio of 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) to Fe3O4 (represented by (EDOT)/(Fe3O4)), the thickness of the polymer shell can be tuned from tens to hundreds of nanometers. Moreover, it was found that the composite exhibited excellent microwave absorbing property with a minimum reflection loss (RL) of about -30 dB at 9.5 GHz with a (EDOT)/(Fe3O4) ratio of 20.