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Dual-Band Microwave/mm-Wave Absorption Properties of γ-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Stealth Applications

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Abstract

The primary aim of the present investigation is to develop a novel method for a magnetic system as high-performance microwave absorbing material, particularly in the K and Ka band (18–42 GHz) frequencies. A simple cost-effective pulsed-DC electrochemical method has been developed to synthesize Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The particle size of the as-synthesized nanoparticles was analyzed by x-ray diffraction and the magnetic properties were verified by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was found that a higher wt% of nanoparticles in paraffin wax corresponds to the higher microwave absorbing performance in terms of reflection loss (RL). Moreover, the γ-Fe2O3 (70 wt%) nanoparticles show the maximum RL of − 40.6 dB at 30.2 GHz, whereas the Fe3O4 (70 wt%) nanoparticles show the maximum RL of − 13.5 dB at 42 GHz at an absorber layer thickness of 2 mm. Compared to Fe3O4, the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles have greater \(\varepsilon^{\prime}\) and \(\varepsilon^{\prime\prime}\) values, which can be ascribed to the improved conductivity and more polarization sites being responsible for their enhanced microwave absorption. The excellent microwave absorption performance of the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the K and Ka bands endows its application in advanced communication systems and stealth technology.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by (I) DST-AMT Grants (ii) MHRD-IMPRINT grant and (iii) DST-SERB grant of Government of India.

Funding

The funding was provided by Department of Science & Technology (IN) (Grant No. SERB), Department of Science and Technology (IN) (Grant No. AMT).

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  1. Special Centre for Nanoscience, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Sunil Kumar, Neetu Kumar, Deepti Chaudhary & Bijoy Kumar Kuanr

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Kumar, S., Kumar, N., Chaudhary, D. et al. Dual-Band Microwave/mm-Wave Absorption Properties of γ-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Stealth Applications. J. Electron. Mater. 52, 2762–2771 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-023-10238-8

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