Electromagnetic wave absorption and corrosion resistance performance of carbon nanoclusters/Ce–Mn codoped barium ferrite composite materials

To realize the application of electromagnetic wave absorption（EWA） devices in humid marine environments, bifunctional EWA materials with better EWA capacities and anticorrosion properties have great exploration significance and systematic research requirements. By utilizing the low-cost and excellent magnetic and stable chemical characteristics of barium ferrite(Fe12O19) and using the high dielectric loss and excellent chemical inertia of nanocarbon clusters, a new type of nanocomposites with carbon nanoclusters encapsulating Fe12O19 was designed and synthesized by combining an impregnation method and a high-temperature calcination strategy.Furthermore, Ce–Mn ions were introduced into the Fe12O19 lattice to improve the dielectric and magnetic properties of Fe12O19 cores significantly, and the energy band structure of the doped lattice and the orders of Ce replacing Fe sites were calculated. Benefiting from Ce–Mn ion doping and carbon nanocluster encapsulation, the composite material exhibited excellent dual functionality of corrosion resistance and EWA. When BaCe0.2Mn0.3Fe11.5O19-C（BCM-C） was calcined at 600°C, the minimum reflection loss of-20.1 dB was achieved at14.43 GHz. The Ku band's effective absorption bandwidth of 4.25 GHz was achieved at an absorber thickness of only 1.3 mm. The BCM-C/polydimethylsiloxane coating had excellent corrosion resistance in the simulated marine environment（3.5wt% NaCl solution）.The | Z|0.01Hz value of BCM-C remained at 10～6 Ω·cm2 after 12 soaking days. The successful preparation of the Fe12O19 composite encapsulated with carbon nanoclusters provides new insights into the preparation of multifunctional absorbent materials and the fabrication of absorbent devices applied in humid marine environments in the future.