Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/ bamboo charcoal/titania LDPE composites as viable microwave absorbing materials

A combination of bamboo charcoal (BC), titania (TiO₂) and Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ spinel ferrites particles were synthesized by hydrothermal method and introduced into Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) to be a Microwave Absorber. The structural characterizations and surface morphology of Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/BC/Ti composites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy respectively. The complex permittivity of composites with polymer to fillers weight ratios (5:1 & 5:2) was measured in 8-12 GHz microwave frequency range using waveguide technique and the corresponding dielectric loss in the same frequency range. The experimental results reveal a loss tangent variation from 0.25 to 0.30 over X band for 5:2 w/w ratios and almost 0.11 for 5:1 w/w ratios. Therefore, Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/BC/Ti composites will be a suitable microwave absorptive material for X band frequency range.