The structure and microwave absorbing properties of PANI/BaFe12O19 composites prepared by in-situ aniline polymerization method

As a traditional microwave-absorbing material, BaFe12O19 has been widely studied. To improve its absorbing property, PANI/BaFe12O19 composites were prepared by in-situ polymerization method under controlling different mass ratios of aniline to BaFe12O19. The morphology, structure, and other physical properties of the composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, etc. Their electromagnetic wave absorption properties were measured by a vector network analyzer. It was found that the yield and thermal stability of the composites were related to the mass ratio of aniline to BaFe12O19. The reflection loss (RL) values of the composite could reach −59.92 dB at the absorber thickness ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 mm, greatly superior to the pure BaFe12O19 and most electromagnetism wave absorbing materials recently reported. Moreover, the additional amount of the composite into the paraffin matrix was only 30 wt.%. In the frequency range of 8.12-13.44 GHz, the absorption bandwidth with RL value was less than -10 dB. Therefore, the composites have great potential in the application of microwave-absorbing materials.