Synthesis and characterization of γ-Fe2O3@C nanorod-carbon sphere composite and its application as microwave absorbing material

Abstract Core-shell structured γ -Fe 2 O 3 @C nanorod-carbon sphere composites have been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method employing FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O as the iron source and d -glucose as the carbon source. The core–shell structured γ -Fe 2 O 3 @C nanorods possess a uniform size with ∼500–800 nm in length, the carbon shell's thickness is ∼3–10 nm, and the γ -Fe 2 O 3 core is homogeneously coated by amorphous carbon layer. The measured electromagnetic (EM) parameters show that its maximum reflection loss (RL) can reach −8.11 dB at 3.92 GHz. This is mainly attributed to the multiple-interfacial polarization among the core–shell structured γ -Fe 2 O 3 @C nanorod-carbon sphere composites. The core–shell structured γ -Fe 2 O 3 @C nanorod-carbon sphere composites can be a promising candidate for lightweight microwave materials.