Effect of the bio-absorbent on the microwave absorption property of the flaky CIPs/rubber absorbers

Microwave absorbing composites filled with flaky carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) and the bio-absorbent were prepared by using a two-roll mixer and a vulcanizing machine. The electromagnetic (EM) parameters were measured by a vector network analyzer and the reflection loss (RL) was measured by the arch method in the frequency range of 1-4 GHz. The uniform dispersion of the absorbents was verified by comparing the calculated RL with the measured one. The results confirm that as the bio-absorbent was added, the permittivity was increased due to the volume content of absorbents, and the permeability was enlarged owing to the volume content of CIPs and interactions between the two absorbents. The composite filled with bio-absorbents achieved an excellent absorption property at a thickness of 1 mm (minimum RL reaches -7.8 dB), and as the RL was less than -10 dB the absorption band was widest (2.1-3.8 GHz) at a thickness of 2 mm. Therefore, the bio-absorbent is a promising additive candidate on fabricating microwave absorbing composites with a thinner thickness and wider absorption band.