Facile Synthesis and Microwave Absorption Performance of Paraffin Wax/Ferrite/Activated Carbon-Based Composite Within Ku-Band

Microwave absorbing materials have a significant role in electronics, communication, and modern warfare. The Ce -doped <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{Ni}-\text{Zn}$</tex> ferrite powder was synthesized using a chemical route. Afterward, the physical mixing route was applied to make paraffin wax/ferrite/activated carbon composite, having better microwave absorption performance within the <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{Ku}(12.4-18 \text{GHz})$</tex> band of the frequency range. The results displayed that the accumulation of ferrite powder and activated carbon in the paraffin wax enhanced the microwave-absorbing capability of the paraffin wax. Initially, it provided an RL value of -9.89 dB at 15 GHz for the pristine paraffin wax sample. Later, it was improved and found to be -17.14 dB at 14.89 GHz and -18.81 dB at 14.87 GHz with ferrite and ferrite + activated carbon, respectively. The upgraded microwave-absorption operation might be due to the interfacial-polarization and impedance matching. This composite material achieved a band width of 0.5 GHz at a thickness of 3 mm from 14.59 GHz to 15.09 GHz with 90 % absorbance (-10 dB) of incident microwaves. It proves the possibility of using these materials in stealth technology and constructing futuristic radar-absorbing (RAMs) materials.