Reduced graphene oxide-wrapped super dense Fe3O4 nanoparticles with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption properties

Abstract

The efficient preparation of electromagnetic wave absorbing materials with low density and excellent electromagnetic wave absorption remains a considerable challenge. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) wrapped Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized based on one-step reaction by the reduction of graphene oxide (GO), and the generation of super-fine Fe3O4 NPs was achieved. The phase structure, chemical composition, micromorphology, and magnetism were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The electromagnetic characteristics were evaluated on a vector network analyzer by the coaxial line method. The results showed that super-fine Fe3O4 NPs with an average size of 6.18 nm are densely distributed on the surface of graphenes. The RGO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites exhibited excellent microwave absorption properties with a minimum reflection loss (RL) of up to −55.71 dB at 6.78 GHz at 3.5 mm thickness and the highest effective absorption bandwidth with RL values exceeding −10 dB is 4.76 GHz between 13.24 and 18 GHz at 1.7 mm thickness. This work provides a concise method for the development of RGO supported super dense Fe3O4 nanocomposites for high performance electromagnetic absorption applications.