Microstructure and electromagnetic characteristics of BaTiO3/Ni hybrid particles prepared by electroless plating

To improve the microwave absorption ability, hybrid particles containing both dielectric loss of BaTiO3 and magnetic loss of Ni were fabricated via electroless Ni plating on BaTiO3 particles. A continuous Ni coating was successfully covered on the surface of the BaTiO3. The effect of the Ni content on complex permittivity, complex permeability, and microwave absorption properties of BaTiO3/Ni hybrid particles was investigated. The real (ɛ′) and imaginary (ɛ″) parts of complex permittivity as well as imaginary part of complex permeability (μ″) were found to increase with an increase in Ni content, while the variation of the real part of complex permeability (μ′) with Ni content was non-linear. The microwave absorption performances could readily be tuned base on the changing Ni content of the hybrid particles. The optimal absorption performances were attained when the content of Ni reached 38.9 wt% in hybrid particles.