Microwave Absorption Properties of Unripe Plantain Husk, Polycaprolactone and Charcoal Powder Hybrid Nanocomposites Using Numerical Simulation at X-Band Frequency

Abstract

Single bulk materials have lesser advantages compared to nano materials in the area of mechanical, electrical, dielectric, optical and thermal properties enhancement of polymer and hybrid of bio-composites. In this work, charcoal (CH), unripe plantain husk (UPH), and polycaprolactone (PCL) based microwave absorber were synthesized using both mechanical alloy and melt blend techniques, respectively. Different percentages of the prepared charcoal nanoparticles was introduced into the hybrid composites to study the effect on dielectric properties, shielding effectiveness, reflection loss and structural morphology in the frequency range of 8–12 GHz.. Findings showed that the sample with the highest amount of charcoal percentage had the best shielding effectiveness and dielectric constant. The value of dielectric constant gradually increased from 3.06 to 5.45 at the frequency range measured. The charcoal average particle size was estimated to be 21.42 nm using TEM analysis while the mean deviation of surface roughness ranged from 5.45 to 25.56 nm using atomic force microscope. The highest shielding effectiveness of the hybrid composites was obtained for the 30 wt% nano charcoal content with a value of -48.78 dB at 10 GHz. The complete dispersion and interaction of the charcoal with the PCL and UPH enhanced the dielectric constant, loss factor, hence making it potent in microwave absorption, shielding and radar applications.