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.