Synthesis and microwave absorption properties of electromagnetic functionalized Fe3O4–polyaniline hollow sphere nanocomposites produced by electrostatic self-assembly

Highly regulated Fe3O4–polyelectrolyte-modified polyaniline (Fe3O4–PE@PANI) hollow sphere nanocomposites were successfully synthesized using an electrostatic self-assembly approach. The morphology and structure of the Fe3O4–PE@PANI nanocomposites were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the as-prepared nanocomposites had well-defined sizes and shapes, and the average size is about 500 nm. The assembly process was investigated. Magnetization measurements showed that the saturation magnetization of the nanocomposites was 38.6 emu g−1. It was also found that the Fe3O4–PE@PANI nanocomposites exhibited excellent reflection loss abilities and wide response bandwidths compared with those of PANI hollow spheres in the range 0.5–15 GHz. The Fe3O4–PE@PANI nanocomposites are, therefore, promising for microwave absorption applications.