Microbuckling-Enhanced Electromagnetic-Wave-Absorbing Capability of a Stretchable Fe₃O₄/Carbon Nanotube/Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Composite Film

This paper reports enhancement of the electromagnetic (EM)-wave-absorbing capability of stretchable nanocomposites through the introduction of microbuckling. Three-dimentional composites are fabricated by laminating carbon nanotube films decorated with in situ grown Fe3O4 nanoparticles using a solvothermal process. The highly wavy morphology enhances the dispersion of EM-wave energy through multiple reflections and gives rise to higher active material content per unit area. The minimum reflection loss of −53.3 dB with a 8.1 GHz bandwidth is achieved for a three-layer buckled Fe3O4/carbon nanotube/poly(dimethylsiloxane) composite, which is superior to the performance of the corresponding unbuckled composite. The fundamental EM-wave absorption mechanism of the composite is discussed. This research has demonstrated microbuckling as a viable approach to fabricating stretchable, broad-bandwidth, and efficient EM-wave-absorbing composites.