Preparation and microwave absorption performance of a flexible FeO/nanocarbon hybrid buckypaper and its application in composite materials.

Graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes are promising microwave-absorbing materials. Herein, ferroferric oxide (FeO)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and FeO/GO hybrid buckypapers with excellent flexibility and manoeuvrability were coated on the surface of an epoxy substrate to fabricate microwave-absorbing composites. FeO/GO buckypapers show a unique layered structure that differs from the complex network structure of FeO/MWCNT buckypapers. Therefore, the FeO/GO buckypapers exhibit lower tensile strength and toughness than the FeO/MWCNT buckypapers, and the minimum electromagnetic reflection loss of FeO/GO buckypapers is higher than that of FeO/MWCNT buckypapers. Further, FeO/GO buckypapers have a wider effective absorption-frequency band than FeO/MWCNT buckypapers at 2.0-18.0 GHz. Although the mechanical properties of epoxy resin composites coated with FeO/MWCNT or FeO/GO buckypapers show a slight deterioration in comparison with those of the epoxy resin substrate, both buckypapers exhibit improved microwave-absorption performance compared with the epoxy resin substrate.