Enhanced Microwave Absorption Property of Fe Nanoparticles Encapsulated within Reduced Graphene Oxide with Different Thicknesses

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/Fe nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile one-step reduction reaction, using reduced graphene oxide and FeSO4·7H2O as raw materials. These RGO/Fe nanocomposites combine Fe nanoparticles with graphene in various thicknesses. The results show that the residual defects and groups in chemically reduced graphene oxide brought about defect polarization relaxation and groups’ electronic dipole relaxation, which both make the electromagnetic absorbing performance of RGO/Fe nanocomposites better than that of pure Fe nanoparticles. Most importantly, this paper reveals that graphene with different thicknesses has a great influence on the microwave-absorbing properties of the composites. There was serious agglomeration in RGO/Fe nanocomposites synthesized by thin graphene, while the graphene of a certain thickness could support the nanoparticles on its surface, thereby reducing the effect of agglomeration on the composite material and giving full play to dielectric loss properties of the graphene.