Bio-template synthesis of hollow Fe₃O₄ fibers and their enhanced microwave absorption performance in Ku-band

ABSTRACT

A novel kind of microwave absorption composite in Ku-band with low cost, low density and strong absorption was prepared through Bio-template carbonization and solvothermal method. The phase structures and morphologies of the composite had been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microwave absorption properties of carbonized kapok fibers and Fe₃O₄/kapok fibers were measured by vector network analysis (VNA). When the sample thickness is 1.5 mm, the Fe₃O₄/kapok fibers have an optimal absorption peak value of about −24.1 dB at 17.4 GHz and its effective absorption bandwidth lower than −10 dB reaches 2.4 GHz (from 15.6 to 18.0 GHz). The reflection loss results indicate that the Fe₃O₄/kapok fibers possess higher microwave absorption in the Ku-band. A possible mechanism of the improved microwave absorption performance of the composite was discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Hollow Fe₃O₄ fibers
• kapok fibers
• bio-template synthesis
• microwave absorption

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (51002156), Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (1508085ME100) and key technical project of Huaibei City (20140311).