Graphene nanosheets/E-glass/epoxy composites with enhanced mechanical and electromagnetic performance

Microwave absorbing composites with superior mechanical properties and electromagnetic absorption characteristics were fabricated using E-glass/epoxy composites containing graphene nanosheets (GNs). Compared with the composites without GNs, the incorporation of 2.0 wt% GNs enhanced the mechanical properties; the flexural strength and elastic modulus were improved by about 58.4 and 78.8%, respectively. Both the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity in the Ku-band increased with increasing GN content. Based on the complex permittivity of the composites, single and double layer absorbing composites were designed to obtain a wide reflection loss (RL) bandwidth below -10 dB. RL values less than -13 dB (larger than 95% absorption) can be obtained in the whole Ku-band for a double layer composite with a sample thickness of 3.4 mm.