Optimisation of the electromagnetic matching of manganese dioxide/multi-wall carbon nanotube composites as dielectric microwave-absorbing materials

An optimised composite sample was prepared using two dielectric materials manganese dioxide (MnO2) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in an epoxy-resin matrix. Structural characterisations of both the synthesised manganese dioxide (MnO2) and the multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microwave absorption properties of dielectric composites with different weight fractions of MnO2 were investigated by measuring the complex permittivity, the complex permeability and the reflection loss in the 2-18 and 18-40 GHz microwave frequency ranges using the free space method. The complex permittivity varied with the MnO2 content, and the results show that a high concentration of fillers increased the dielectric constant. Therefore, the appropriate combination of components and experimental conditions can produce materials with specific characteristic for use as wide-band microwave absorbers.