A Study on Microwave Absorption Properties of Carbon Black and Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 Nanocomposites by Tuning the Matching-Absorbing Layer Structures

• Main Authors: Idza Riati, Ibrahim, Khamirul Amin, Matori, Ismayadi, Ismail, Zaiki, Awang, Siti Nor Ain, Rusly, Rodziah, Nazlan, Fadzidah, Mohd Idris, Muhammad Misbah, Muhammad Zulkimi, Nor Hapishah, Abdullah, Muhammad Syazwan, Mustaffa, Farah Nabilah, Shafiee, Mehmet, Ertugrul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Q Science (General)
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/31872/1/Idza%20Riati%20Ibrahim.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/31872/; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-60107-1

Microwave absorption properties were systematically studied for double-layer carbon black/epoxy resin (CB) and Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4/epoxy resin (F) nanocomposites in the frequency range of 8 to 18 GHz. The Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via high energy ball milling with subsequent sintering while carbon black was commercially purchased. The materials were later incorporated into epoxy resin to fabricate double-layer composite structures with total thicknesses of 2 and 3 mm. The CB1/F1, in which carbon black as matching and ferrite as absorbing layer with each thickness of 1 mm, showed the highest microwave absorption of more than 99.9%, with minimum reflection loss of −33.8 dB but with an absorption bandwidth of only 2.7 GHz. Double layer absorbers with F1/CB1(ferrite as matching and carbon black as absorbing layer with each thickness of 1 mm) structure showed the best microwave absorption performance in which more than 99% microwave energy were absorbed, with promising minimum reflection loss of −24.0 dB, along with a wider bandwidth of 4.8 GHz and yet with a reduced thickness of only 2 mm.