FeCu/MWCNT Nanocomposite with a Broad Microwave Absorption Band and Highly Reduced Radar Cross Section and Farfield

Abstract

To address the issue of electromagnetic pollution, the development of materials with favorable microwave attenuation over a wide range of frequency, is imperative. These materials should have lightweight and relatively low thickness. In this study, FeCu nanoparticles (NPs) is synthesized using a co-precipitation method, and a novel FeCu/MWCNT nanocomposite is formed by decorating multi-walled carbon (MWCNT) with FeCu NPs in two different ratios (2:1) & (3:1). The FeCu/MWCNT nanocomposites exhibited superior microwave absorption properties, owing to the increased polarization loss (surface polarization and dipole), conduction loss, ferromagnetic and multiple natural resonance. At 9.67 GHz, FeCu/MWCNT (3:1) displayed a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of −39.82 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth which covered 98.2% of X and Ku bands at a thickness of 1.8 mm. The radar cross section (RCS) and far field simulation confirmed that, covering a typical perfect conductor (PEC) sphere with FeCu/MWCNT nanocomposites causes RCS and far field reduction for 30–50 dB and 20 dB, respectively, in comparison with uncovered PEC.