Orientation-induced enhancement in electromagnetic properties of ZnFe2O4/SiO2/PANI core/shell/shell nanostructured disks

ZnFe2O4/SiO2/PANI (ZSP) core/shell/shell nanostructured disks are prepared and fabricated into paraffin-bonded ZSP composite rings with random, vertical, and horizontal orientations of the easy magnetization planes of the ZSP disks in the paraffin binder in order to study the effect of directional orientation of the easy magnetization planes on their electromagnetic properties. The easy magnetization planes induced by shape anisotropy and oriented by a magnetic field in the vertically oriented ring result in a general enhancement in permeability of 7–60% in the broad UHF–Ku (0.1–18 GHz) bands, while those in the horizontally oriented ring lead to a significant enhancement of 58–1100% in the low-frequency L and S (1–4 GHz) bands, in comparison with the randomly oriented ring. The observed permeability agrees with the theoretical prediction based on the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation and the Bruggeman’s effective medium theory. The horizontal and vertical arrangements of dipolar polarizations in the vertically and horizontally oriented rings give rise to 3–11% enhancement and weakening in permittivity, respectively, compared to the randomly oriented ring. The enhancement in permeability also improves and broadens the electromagnetic wave absorption in both vertically and horizontally oriented rings, especially in the L and S bands for the horizontally oriented ring.