A novel carbon nanotubes/Fe3O4 inorganic hybrid material: Synthesis, characterization and microwave electromagnetic properties

Magnetite particles with nanoscale sizes were self-assembled along multiwalled carbon nanotubes through a simple, effective and reproducible solvothermal method. The morphology, composition and phase structure of as-prepared hybrid materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that denseness, size and crystallinity of magnetite can be altered by controlling the reaction parameters. Magnetization measurement indicated that both coercivity and saturation magnetization increased linearly with increasing magnetite concentration in the hybrid materials. Electromagnetic properties of the carbon nanotubes/magnetite inorganic hybrid materials were measured at 1∼18 GHz. The magnetic loss was caused mainly by ferromagnetic natural resonance, which is in agreement with the Kittel equation. The as-prepared inorganic hybrid materials are believed to have potential applications in the microwave absorbing area.