Synthesis of graphene@branching-like polypyrrole@CoFe2O4 composites and their excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties

• The composites composed of GN, branching-like PPy and CoFe2O4 were synthesized.
• The ternary composites have a ferromagnetic behavior.
• The diameter of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles is in the range of 5–15 nm.
• The maximum reflection loss of the ternary composites is –50.8 dB at 14.5 GHz.
• The absorption bandwidths exceeding –10 dB are 4.2 GHz with a thickness of 1.5 mm.

In order to expand the scope of electromagnetic wave absorbers, the ternary composites composed of graphene, branching-like polypyrrole and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized. TEM results indicated that polypyrrole on the surface of graphene had a branching-like geometrical morphology and the diameter of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles ranged from 5 to 15 nm. The electromagnetic wave absorbability revealed that the ternary composites exhibited excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties. The maximum reflection loss was up to −50.8 dB at 14.5 GHz and the absorption bandwidths with the reflection loss exceeding −10 dB were 4.2 GHz with a thickness of only 1.5 mm. Furthermore, our development strategies confirmed that the surface modification of graphene with branching-like polypyrrole and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles could make the ternary composites have a promising future in electromagnetic wave absorption materials.