PEDOT coated Cu-BTC metal-organic frameworks decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and their enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption

In this study, Cu-3(1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) (Cu-BTC) metal-organic frameworks decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via the hydrothermal process. Subsequently, the obtained Fe3O4/Cu-BTC was coated by poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) via in situ chemical polymerization methods. The chemical, structural, and magnetic hysteresis analysis of particles were carried oud via scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) machines. The characteristic peaks of C/F and P@C/F were obtained without any other impurities and extra peaks. The Fe3O4 decorated Cu-BTC displayed octahedral morphology with average particle size of 150-170 nm. As an electromagnetic wave absorber, the obtained Fe3O4 decorated Cu-BTC was mixed with 45% by weight of paraffin. For comparative studies, the PEDOT coated Fe3O4/Cu-BTC was also filled to the paraffin matrix. The higher real and imaginary part of permittivity values were obtained with introduction of conductive PEDOT shell. The electromagnetic wave absorption performance of composites was determined with permeability and permittivity values. The result exhibited that the strongest reflection loss was -18.3 dB at 17.5 GHz frequency with a thickness of 5 mm for PEDOT coated Fe3O4/Cu-BTC composite. It was proved that the conductive PEDOT coating on Fe3O4/Cu-BTC enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption capability of composite and the PEDOT coated Fe3O4/Cu-BTC can be considered as a good candidate for electromagnetic wave absorption applications.