Fabrication of nickel ferrite microspheres decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes hybrid composites with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption properties

Abstract

Herein, we fabricated the multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel ferrite (MWCNTs/NiFe2O4) hybrid composites by a facile one-pot solvothermal strategy. The structure, composition, micromorphology and electromagnetic parameters of the as-prepared hybrid nanocomposites were investigated by various analysis techniques. Experimental results revealed that the three-dimensional (3D) conductive networks consisting of NiFe2O4 microspheres twined MWCNTs were formed in situ in the hybrid composites. Moreover, the additive amounts of MWCNTs had a significant influence on the electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption properties. Remarkably, the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) reached −42.3 dB with a thin thickness of 1.2 mm and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL less than −10 dB) was 3.8 GHz. Furthermore, the possible EMW absorption mechanism was proposed. Therefore, it could be concluded that the hybridization of magnetic NiFe2O4 microspheres with dielectric MWCNTs could be an effective strategy to enhance the EMW absorption performance of NiFe2O4. Our results could be helpful for designing and developing novel MWCNTs-based hybrid composites as the high-performance EMW absorbers.