Electromagnetic properties of core–shell particles by way of electroless Ni–Fe–P alloy plating on flake-shaped diatomite

Abstract

Flake-shaped diatomite particles coated by Ni–Fe–P alloy were prepared by electroless plating technique and processed by heat treatment. The samples were characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD. The results indicated that the magnetic diatomite particles had continuous and homogeneous Ni–Fe–P coating, and the phase constitution of the Ni–Fe–P coating was transformed from an amorphous structure to a crystalline structure during heat treatment. The measured electromagnetic parameters and the calculated reflection loss suggested that heat treatment was able to enhance the microwave absorption performance of the paraffin wax based composites. In a word, the Ni–Fe–P coated diatomite particle obtained in this paper is a promising candidate for lightweight microwave absorbing inclusions.