Electronic Materials Based on Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 Nanocomposites

The reduction of the radar cross-sectional area achieved in stealth technology has been a major challenge since the Second World War, being accomplished by covering the metallic surfaces of aircraft, ships, tanks, etc. with radar-absorbing materials. Nowadays, the development of lightweight microwave-absorbing materials with reduced thickness has a greater impact due to their excellent microwave-absorbing properties. In this study, the microwave-absorbing properties of nanocomposites based on Zn-substituted cobalt ferrite and lead zirconium titanate have been investigated in the X-band (8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz) region. Zn-substituted cobalt ferrite (CZF) and lead zirconium titanate (PZT) nanoparticles were prepared by the coprecipitation and homogeneous precipitation method, respectively. Nanocomposites were developed by dispersing these nanoparticles with different compositions into an epoxy resin matrix. All the composite materials showed more than 90% microwave absorption in the X-band region. The nanocomposite containing CZF/PZT (3:1) with 2 mm thickness displayed maximum return loss of -47.87 dB at 12.23 GHz. The microwave absorbers based on epoxy resin polymeric matrix exhibited better absorbing properties when the dielectric contribution matched the magnetic contribution, and the loss mechanisms were mainly due to the dielectric loss.