Smart absorbing property of composites with MWCNTs and carbonyl iron as the filler

A smart absorbing composite was prepared by mixing silicone rubber, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and flaky carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) in a two-roll mixer. The complex permittivity and permeability of composites with variable compression strain was measured by the transmission method and dc electric conductivity was measured by the standard four-point contact method, then the reflection loss (RL) could be calculated to evaluate the microwave absorbing ability. The results showed that the applied compression strain made the complex permittivity decrease but not obviously due to the broken original conductive network. The enforcement of the strain on the complex permeability was attributed to the orientation of flaky CIPs. With the compressing strain applied on the composites with thickness 1 mm or 1.5 mm, the RL value decreased (minimum −13.2 dB and −25.1 dB) and the absorbing band (RL<−10 dB) was widened (5.2–10.6 GHz and 4.0–8.4 GHz). While as the composite thickness decreased caused by the compression strain, the RL value still decreased (minimum −12.4 dB and −18.6 dB) and the absorbing band was also broadened (6.5–10.7 GHz and 4.4–10.0 GHz). Thus the smart absorbing property was effective on preparing absorbers with wide absorption band and high absorption ratio. - Highlights: • Absorbing property of absorbers with strain applied was firstly analyzed. • The strain made the permittivity decrease due to the broken original conductive network. • The enforcement of strains on the permeability attributed to the orientation of flaky CIPs. • The smart absorbing property was effective to widen absorption band and enlarge absorption ratio