Microwave Absorption Behavior of Core−Shell Structured Poly (3,4-Ethylenedioxy Thiophene)−Barium Ferrite Nanocomposites

Abstract

The present paper reports the complex permittivity, permeability, and microwave absorption properties of core shell type poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy thiophene) (PEDOT) nanocomposite with barium ferrite, synthesized by in situ emulsion polymerization, in the 12.4-18 GHz frequency range. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies reveal the formation of core-shell type morphology with ferrite particles (60-80 nm) as the center while the polymer (PEDOT) formulates the outer shell of the composite. The presence of barium ferrite nanoparticles in the polymer matrix includes the magnetic losses, which mainly arise from the magnetic hysteresis, domain-wall displacement, and eddy current loss. The higher dielectric (epsilon'' = 23.5) and magnetic loss (micro'' = 0.22) contributes to the microwave absorption value of 22.5 dB (>99% attenuation) and are found to increase with the amount of ferrite constituents. The polymer was further characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).