Excellent microwave absorbing performance of biomass-derived activated carbon decorated with in situ-grown CoFe2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, in situ-grown cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4, CF) nanoparticles on waste biomass-derived porous activated carbon (AC) were grown via a facile hydrothermal technique to develop a CF/AC nanocomposite. The nanostructure and porous morphology of the nanocomposite were confirmed by FESEM, HRTEM and BET analysis. Microwave (MW) absorption analysis in the range of 2-18 GHz revealed a drastic improvement in the MW absorption performance of the CF/AC nanocomposite. Sample FAC20, having an AC loading of 20 wt%, exhibited excellent maximum reflection loss (RLmax) of -61.86 dB (@16.08 GHz) and an effective absorption bandwidth (RL