Preparation and excellent microwave absorption property of three component nanocomposites: Polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide-Co₃O₄ nanoparticles

A novel kind of three component nanocomposites of polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide-Co₃O₄ (PANI-RGO-Co₃O ₄) was firstly synthesized by a three-step method. Several analytical techniques indicate that small Co₃O₄ nanoparticles are anchored on the surface of PANI-RGO and the average diameter of Co ₃O₄ nanoparticles is between 5 and 20 nm. The PANI-RGO-Co₃O₄ nanocomposites demonstrate that the maximum reflection loss is -32.6 dB at 6.3 GHz with a thickness of 3 mm and the absorption bandwidth with the reflection loss below -10 dB is up to 13.5 GHz (from 3.4 to 11.8 GHz and from 12.9 to 18 GHz) with a thickness in the range of 2-4 mm, suggesting that the microwave absorption properties and the absorption bandwidth are greatly enhanced compared to PANI-RGO. The three component nanocomposites consisting of polyaniline, reduced graphene oxide and Co ₃O₄ nanoparticles could be used as a kind of candidate for the new types of microwave absorptive materials.