Preparation, Characterization, and Microwave Absorption Properties of Cobalt-Doped SrFe12O19 Nanoparticles

Ferrite is the major absorbing components of conventional radar absorbing materials (RAM). However, conventional RAM made of the single-absorbing components cannot meet the comprehensive requirements of “thin, wide, light, and strong.” To overcome this limitation, a composite compound of cobalt-doped SrFe12O19 nanoparticles is currently exploited to improve absorbing ability. SrFe12−xCoxO19 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25) composite ferrites were prepared using the sol-gel method. Results show that the powders obtained are pure lead-magnetite ferrite, and the properties of the samples are improved evidently after Co substitution. At room temperature, the samples substituted using Co exhibit typical permanent magnetism. When x = 0.2, the maximum saturation magnetization and coercivity of the powders are 55.8 A·2/kg and 302.4 kA/m, respectively. The real complex permittivity part of SrFe12−xCoxO19 first increases and then decreases with the increase in x and has a maximum value of x = 0.2. The complex imaginary permittivity part fluctuates with the increase in x; it first decreases, then increases, and finally decreases. With the increase in x, the complex permeability real part of the sample does not change much between 2 GHz to 16 GHz but first increases and then decreases in the range of 16-18 GHz. The imaginary part of the complex permeability first increases and then decreases, reaching its maximum at x = 0.2. The attenuation constants and absorbing properties of the samples before and after substitution were analyzed. The matching thickness of strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) is 5.2 mm, the matching thickness of SrFe11,8Co0.2O19 (x = 0.2) is reduced to 2.4 mm, the minimum reflectivity is −24.7 dB (13.8 GHz), and the microwave absorption bandwidth lower than −10 dB is 4.7 GHz (11.6-16.3 GHz). These results indicate that an appropriate amount of Co substitution could greatly improve the absorbing performance of SrFe12O19. This study provides a simple method for the preparation of Co doped strontium ferrite. The microwave absorbing properties of the composite powders are excellent and have potential engineering application value.