Ferrite-based composites and morphology-controlled absorbers

The exploration of lightweight and efficient electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials is a crucial focus topic because the human body and precision instruments are exposed to the increasingly serious electromagnetic pollution. Ferrite, as the first type of EMW absorption material, is still the indelible superstar in the EMW absorption field due to its unique double loss mechanism, controllable morphology and high permeability. This review briefly introduces the EMW absorption and attenuation mechanism of ferrite-based composite absorbers, including dielectric loss dominated by charge transfer and polarization relaxation, and magnetic loss consisted of eddy current and resonance. Moreover, we comb the advances in synthesis of ferrite materials. In particular, this paper summarizes the advantages and defects of pure ferrite as EMW absorption material. And the approach to tackling the imbalance of impedance matching and high-density in ferrite is also reviewed, including ion substitution, design of micro-morphology and doping with dielectric loss materials. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]