A three-dimensional BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19/rGO composite aerogel with superior microwave absorption properties

The combination of dielectric and magnetic materials can significantly improve microwave absorption properties. In this work, we introduce a novel Zr-Sm doped barium ferrite BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19, which is compounded with rGO aerogel and presents superior microwave absorption properties. The results show that the BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19/rGO composite aerogel exhibits a unique three-dimensional porous network structure which enhances the reflection and scattering of electromagnetic waves. Meanwhile, the addition of BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19 abounds the folds and defects on the surface of rGO sheet layer, generating a large amount of polarisation and relaxation. In addition, with the increase of BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19 content, the permeability gradually increases, while the dielectric constant gradually decreases. At a certain content, both of them can be well balanced to obtain high attenuation constants and great impedance matching, which regulates the wave-absorbing properties of the material. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19/rGO composite aerogel can reach -53.17 dB at a matching thickness of 2.9 mm, and the absorption bandwidth reaches 7.04 GHz, which has been improved by 40% than pure BaFe11.6(ZrSm)0.2O19. Therefore, it is expected to be a candidate for lightweight, thin, high loss, large bandwidth microwave absorbing materials.