| Summary: | The current research reports the preparation of a microwave absorber containing CoFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/NiFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Carbon fiber (H/S/CF) coated with polypyrrole polymer (PPy@H/S/CF) through sol-gel and in-situ polymerization processes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and a vector network analyzer (VNA) are utilized to evaluate the features of the prepared composite. The microstructure analysis results revealed carbon fibers well decorated with submicron-size particles having hard/soft magnetic phases and thoroughly coated with polymer. The paraffin-based microwave absorber sample filled with 45 wt.% of PPy@H/S/CF has simultaneously both magnetic and dielectric losses in the 8.2–12.4 GHz frequency range. The absorber is used in a Salisbury screen configuration aiming at reducing the radar cross-section of objects. A minimum reflection loss of −55 dB at 10.6 GHz frequency with 5 GHz bandwidth is obtained for the sample with a 2 mm thickness. Different mechanisms, such as interfacial polarization, ferromagnetic resonance, and electron hopping, are the main factors for achieving such an appropriate microwave absorption. These results suggest that the PPy@H/S/CF composite is an ideal candidate for microwave absorption applications requiring high performance and low thickness.
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