Magnetic and electromagnetic properties of Fe3O4/Fe composites prepared by a simple one-step ball-milling

In this study, an extremely simple one-step ball milling has been applied to fabricate the flaky Fe 3 O 4 /Fe composites. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and vector network analysis (VNA). It is acknowledged that the ball-milling process has huge influence on the morphology and electromagnetic absorption capability. Compared with the raw Fe 3 O 4 , the saturation magnetization of Fe 3 O 4 /Fe composites improved greatly. When the thickness is just 1.25 mm, the reflection loss values below −10 dB can be achieved from 13.8 to 18 GHz, with a maximum reflection loss of −25.9 at 16.1 GHz. Obviously, the Fe 3 O 4 /Fe composites can be used as magnetic microwave absorbers due to its simple synthesis for the mass production standards. Moreover, this study also gives new enlightenment to design other magnetism/magnetism composites that can be applied to Ku-band such as satellite communications.