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.