Improving microwave adsorption property of ZnO particle by doping graphene

• The well crystallized ZnO particles decorated graphene composite is obtained by aqueous-solution and calcinations route.
• The real and imaginary permittivity of ZnO/graphene composite exhibit significant fluctuations in the range of 2–18 GHz.
• RL exceeding −10 dB is obtained in the frequency range of 3.2–17 GHz for an absorber thickness of 1.5–5 mm.
• The excellent absorption properties are a consequence of a proper EM match in multi-interface polarization.

ZnO/graphene nanocomposite has been prepared by aqueous-solution and calcinations route. The electromagnetic (EM) characteristics of ZnO/graphene nanocomposite were studied by Agilent E8362B PNA vector network analyzer at 2–18 GHz. The reflection loss (RL) of ZnO/graphene nanocomposite was calculated from the EM characteristics. A RL exceeding −10 dB was obtained in the frequency range of 3.2–17 GHz with an absorber thickness of 1.5–5 mm. An optimal RL of −52 dB was found at 5.2 GHz with an absorber thickness of 3.5 mm. The excellent microwave absorption properties were a consequence of proper EM match in the microstructure as well as multi-interface polarization mechanisms.