Preparation of a reduced graphene oxide/SiO2/Fe3O4 UV-curing material and its excellent microwave absorption properties

Abstract

A RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 UV-curing material was synthesized and its nanostructures and morphologies were characterized at the nanoscale. Microwave absorption properties show that the RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 hybrid has enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics. The maximum reflection loss of the RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 UV-curing material reaches −56.4 dB at 8.1 GHz with the thickness of 4.5 mm, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth reaches 7.1 GHz with the thickness of 3.0 mm. Investigations reveal that the dispersion and reflection loss of Fe3O4 which is wrapped by SiO2 is obviously improved. The enhanced absorption properties of the RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 hybrid are ascribed to the synergistic effect of magnetic Fe3O4 nanocrystals and light-weight graphene. These results suggest that the RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 hybrid could be used as a kind of candidate absorber. The mass ratio of the RGO/SiO2/Fe3O4 to UV-curing material was only 0.2%. It is believed that such a composite will find its wide applications in a microwave absorbing area.