Hybrid structure of MWCNT/ferrite and GO incorporated composites for microwave shielding properties and their practical applications

Abstract

To eliminate the increasing adverse effects of electromagnetic pollution in everyday life, the shielding abilities of ferrite nanoparticles, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and graphene oxide based hybrid composites have been investigated. The conceivable applications of the best investigated shielding composite samples on wearable and construction materials were investigated. Zinc substituted nickel and cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized using a sol–gel method with average crystallite size of 15–20 nm and incorporated with MWCNT and MWCNT–GO in a 1 : 1 weight ratio. Detailed investigations have been done on the prepared nano-composites by using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis, magnetic hysteresis loops, and vector network analysis. The microwave shielding capacity of the multiwalled carbon nanotube-zinc doped cobalt ferrite–graphene oxide hybrid composite was significantly enhanced up to 81.6 dB for the thickness of 2.4 mm in the X-band frequency region. Such a high SE indicates attenuation of the entire incoming EM radiation, which corroborates the potential of these materials in terms of high efficiency, tuneable, stable, and lightweight shielding applications. The synthesized MWCNT–CZFO–GO nanocomposite was used as an absorbent and was incorporated with cotton fabric, camouflage fabric, cement, and gypsum for high-efficiency daily life radiation shielding applications. These incorporated shielding samples (52.3 dB for cement, 31.4 dB for gypsum, 40.8 dB for camouflage fabric, and 28.6 dB for cotton fabric) showed a high attenuation capacity with more than 99.999% attenuation of the incident EM radiation establishing a promising behaviour to neutralize the harmful effects of radiation in day-to-day life.