Broadband electromagnetic wave absorption of Fe@polyaniline-derived carbon composites with nitrogen-doping

An in-situ carbonization process was used to prepare nitrogen-doped Fe@C composites, from the complex matrix of polyaniline and iron, for electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. The basic idea is to introduce a variety of EMW absorption mechanisms, including dipole polarization due to the nitrogen doping and multiple interface reflection owing to the structural collapse. By adjusting the ratio of the components in the complex, EMW absorption performance of the final composites could be readily optimized while the mass ratio of Fe 2 O 3 /polyaniline was 0.6. Specifically, a reflection loss of −66.92 dB at 2.46 mm can be achieved, while an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.40 GHz (11.60 GHz–18.00 GHz) at 2.36 mm.