Microwave absorption properties and mechanism for hollow Fe3O4 nanosphere composites

Hollow Fe3O4 nanospheres with the diameter of 450 nm and the wall thickness of 80 nm are prepared using the Ostwald ripening process. The composites filled with the hollow nanospheres of 60 wt% have good high-frequency and absorption properties. In RL-f curves, two absorption frequencies are found, which have their origins in quarter-wavelength resonator and magnetic resonance, respectively. Based on the quarter-wavelength resonator model, the calculated f(A1) and RLA1 are in a good agreement with the observed values. Due to the overlap of the two absorptions, the frequency band is expanded. The composite with light weight of the density of 2.71 g/cm(3) has bandwidth W-p of 65% with return loss RL <= - 10dB at thickness of 0.3 cm for EM absorption or attenuation applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.