Preparation and Microwave Absorption Properties of Novel Carbon Nanofiber/Fe3O4 Composites

Novel, carbonized bacterial cellulose (CBC)/Fe3O4 nanocomposites were synthesized using vacuum filtration and annealing (VFA) methods. The as-synthesized products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and transmission electron microscopy. The complex permittivity and permeability of Fe3O4-CBC (5 wt.% CBC)/paraffin wax composites were measured by vector network analysis. To study the microwave absorption (MA) performances, we compared the VFA products with the vacuum filtration (VF) products. The VFA products exhibited better absorption performances because of their larger dielectric loss. When the matching thickness was 2.4 mm, the calculated reflection loss reached a minimum value of -27 dB when VFA was used and a value of -11 dB when VF was used. The wide-range MA properties of these materials lead to potential applications in MA fields.