Infrared emissivity and microwave absorbing property of epoxy-polyurethane/annealed carbonyl iron composites coatings

The microwave absorption property and infrared emissivity have been investigated for the single-layer coating made of the epoxy-polyurethane resin and carbonyl iron powders with variation of annealing treatment. Microwave-absorbing property was investigated by measuring the complex permittivity and complex permeability of the absorber in the frequency range from 2 to 18 GHz. Infrared emissivity value was measured using IR-2 Infrared Emissometer in the wavelength range of 8–14 μm. After annealing, the Fe (110) peak became sharp, and the crystallization improved significantly. Annealing treatment could reduce the surface energy of powders, improve compatibility between fillers and adhesives, and result in increase of the density of the coating. The lowest value of infrared emissivity (0.419) was obtained from the coating made of the carbonyl iron powder annealed at 700°C for 1 h. With the variation of the annealing temperature, the magnetic and dielectric properties of the carbonyl iron particle were changed. The maximum reflection loss decreased and the matching frequency shifted to lower frequency with increasing the annealing temperature of carbonyl iron particles, which coincided with the variation of the complex permeability and permittivity according to the annealing temperature. Magnetic loss factor and dielectric loss factor of carbonyl iron particles were improved with increasing the annealing temperature in the 2–18 GHz range.