A facial synthesis of MgFe2O4/RGO nanocomposite powders as a high performance microwave absorber

Abstract

Abstract MgFe2O4/RGO nanocomposites were prepared by one-pot solution combustion synthesis method using metal nitrates and graphene oxide (GO) as oxidants and citric acid as fuel. The GO was reduced during combustion process as confirmed by X-ray diffractometry, thermogravimetric analysis and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The effects of amounts of RGO on the structure, microstructure, permittivity and permeability properties were studied by modern characterization techniques. The MgFe2O4 nanoparticles were embedded on RGO sheets, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. The addition of RGO was more effective on the increase of dielectric loss than the decrease of magnetic loss due to the non-magnetic nature of RGO. The MgFe2O4/RGO nanocomposites showed a multi-region absorption properties due to the thickness effect. The MgFe2O4- 17 wt. % RGO composite showed a strong absorption of −35.5 dB at 12.5 GHz, while the wide effective bandwidth of 1.6 GHz in Ku band was obtained at the higher RGO contents.