In situ Growth of Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles on MXene as High Performance Electromagnetic Wave Absorber in X-Band

Thuy Hao  Nguyen; Sy Duc Dao; Duc Thang Do; Thi Hoa Nguyen; Van Hoanh  Ngo

doi:10.62239/jca.2025.064

Authors

Thuy Hao Nguyen Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi
Sy Duc Dao Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi
Duc Thang Do Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi
Thi Hoa Nguyen Institute of Chemistry, Biology and Environment, 17 Hoang Sam, Nghia Do, Hanoi
Van Hoanh Ngo Institute of Chemistry, Biology and Environment, 17 Hoang Sam, Nghia Do, Hanoi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62239/jca.2025.064

Keywords:

Nickel ferrite nanoparticles, Ti3C2 MXene, X-band electromagnetic wave absorption

Abstract

Ti₃C₂T_x MXene sheets - a two-dimensional material with large surface area and high conductivity – show promise in electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption, however, achieving strong and efficient absorption of electromagnetic waves in the X-band region still faces many challenges. Here, nickel ferrite nanoparticles were grown in situ on the surface and introduced into the interlayers of MXene sheets through a facile co-precipitation combined with heat-reduction . Interestingly, the minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of the NiFe₂O₄/MXene composite was -13.3 dB, indicating much stronger EMW absorption properties than pure MXene nanosheets (RL_min= -7.03 dB) at the same loading. The presence of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles primarily accounts for the prevention of MXene nanosheets from self-stacking, thereby enhancing conduction loss.. In addition, the presence of MXene promotes the growth and organization of nickel ferrite nanoparticles, resulting in enhanced crystal structure and surface effect between nanoparticles and MXene sheets throughout the composite. More importantly, the magnetic loss generated by the magnetic NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles is beneficial for good impedance matching, allowing more EMW to enter the composite for dissipation. This study opens up a promising approach to enhance the absorption properties of X-band electromagnetic waves.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

R. J. Doviak and D. S. Zrnić, Doppler Radar and Weather Observations. Courier Corporation, 1993.

T. S. Rappaport, Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice. Prentice Hall PTR, 2002.

IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation, "IEEE Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz," IEEE Std C95.1-2005, 2005.

X. Wang et al., "Recent advances in electromagnetic wave absorbing materials," Adv. Mater. Interfaces, vol. 6, no. 19, p. 1900595, 2019.

L. Li et al., "Designing and fabricating wideband and strong electromagnetic wave absorbing materials: A review," Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 200, p. 108304, 2020.

C. K. Lee and S. S. Lee, "Electromagnetic wave absorption properties of carbon nanotube composites," J. Magn. Magn. Mater., vol. 320, no. 18, pp. 2486-2490, 2008.

Anasori, B., Lukatskaya, M. R., & Gogotsi, Y. (2017). 2D metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) for energy storage. Nature Reviews Materials, 2(2), 16098.

Gogotsi, Y., & Anasori, B. (2019). The Rise of MXenes. ACS Nano, 13(9), 9680–9685.

Alhabeb, M., Maleski, K., Anasori, B., Lelyukh, P., Clark, L., Sin, S., & Gogotsi, Y. (2017). Guidelines for Synthesis and Processing of Two-Dimensional Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2Tx MXene). Chemistry of Materials, 29(18), 7620–7633.

Rakhi, R. B., Nayak, P. K., Anasori, B., Ghidiu, M., Gogotsi, Y., & Alshareef, H. N. (2016). Electrochemical capacitor using two-dimensional Ti3C2 MXene with a covalently bonded carbon nanotube network. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 8(40), 26814–26820.

Han, M., Yan, J., Li, Y., Liang, S., & Liu, P. (2020). Recent advances of MXene-based materials for electromagnetic wave absorption. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 8(28), 9477-9494.

Cao, M. S., Shu, J. C., Fang, X. Y., Zhao, S. Y., & Zhang, J. (2020). Core-Shell Hybrid Design of Dielectric Materials for Electromagnetic Absorption. Advanced Materials Technologies, 5(5), 1901026.

Wang, Z., Li, S., Zhang, W., Chen, F., Wang, J., Yang, Y., ... & Dong, H. (2020). Recent advances on MXene-based electromagnetic wave absorption materials. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 51, 268-283.

Liu, X., Du, S., Li, H., Zhao, X., Xu, C., & Zhang, S. (2021). Progress of MXene-based electromagnetic wave absorption materials. Journal of Materials Science, 56(29), 16407-16430

Sharma, N., Arya, S., & Lal, M. (2025). Spinel and Inverse Spinel Ferrites for Microwave Absorption. In Spinel and Inverse Spinel Ferrites. Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Wang, Q., Li, J., & Zhang, P. (2023). Surface functionalization of electromagnetic wave absorbing materials: A review. Materials Today Nano, 22, 100278.

Liu, Y., Wang, X., & Chen, Y. (2020). Solvothermal synthesis of NiFe$_{2}$O$_{4}$ spinel ferrite nanoparticles for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 848, 156553

Kumar, R., Yadav, V. K., & Singh, V. P. (2021). Structural, magnetic, and microwave absorption properties of Ni-Co ferrite nanoparticles. Ceramics International, 47(11), 15488-15495.

Sun, W., Liu, Z., & Gao, J. (2022). Recent advances in magnetic/dielectric composite electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. Composites Part B: Engineering, 235, 109786.

Y. Guo et al. “Electrostatic self-assembled NiFe2O4/Ti3C2Tx MXene nanocomposites for efficient electromagnetic wave absorption at ultralow loading level” Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 602–613, Jun. 2021.

Rui Zeng et al., "In Situ Synthesis of C-N@NiFe2O4@MXene/Ni Nanocomposites for Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption at an Ultralow Thickness Level," Molecules 28, no. 1 (2024):

Anwar et al. (2020). “Impact of rare earth Dy+3 cations on the various parameters of nanocrystalline nickel spinel ferrite”.

Zhang et al. (2018). “In Situ High-Pressure X-ray Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy Study of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene”.

Pham et al. (2020). Spinel ferrite (AFe2O4)-based heterostructured designs for lithium-ion battery, environmental monitoring, and biomedical applications. RSC advances, 10(52), 31622-31661.

Sun et al. (2021). Magnetic properties and microstructures of Fe-doped (Ti1-xFex)3AlC2 MAX phase and their mxene derivatives. Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism, 34, 1477-1483.

D. Shan et al. “The underlying mechanisms of enhanced microwave absorption performance for the NiFe2O4-decorated Ti3C2Tx MXene” Results in Physics, vol. 15, p. 102750, Dec. 2019.

Su, et al. (2021). Fe2O3-decoration and multilayer structure design of Ti3C2 MXene materials toward strong and broadband absorption of electromagnetic waves in the X-band region. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 1-14.

Tian, et al. (2023). Synthesis of nanospherical CoFe2O4/Ti3C2Tx MXene composites with enhanced microwave absorbing performance. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 967, 171796.

He, et al. (2020). Tunable electromagnetic and enhanced microwave absorption properties in CoFe2O4 decorated Ti3C2 MXene composites. Applied Surface Science, 504, 144210.

Siva Nagasree, et al. (2021). X-band radar-absorbing structures based on MWCNTs/NiZn ferrite nanocomposites. Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 50(2), 71-82.

Mashuri, et al. (2018). Preparation and microwave absorbing properties in the X-band of natural ferrites from iron sands by high energy milling. Materials Research Express, 5(1), 014003.

Mohammad, et al.. (2019). Magnetic and microwave absorption properties of W-type nanoferrite in X and Ku band. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 30, 2278-2284.

Ismail, et al. (2018). Electromagnetic interference shielding and microwave absorption properties of cobalt ferrite CoFe2O4/polyaniline composite. Applied Physics A, 124, 1-12.

Liu, et al. (2020). Enhanced microwave absorption properties of Ti 3 C 2 MXene powders decorated with Ni particles. Journal of Materials Science, 55, 10339-10350.

Liu, et al. (2018). Ultrasmall Fe3O4 nanoparticles on MXenes with high microwave absorption performance. Materials Letters, 229, 286-289.

Wang, et al. (2019). The electromagnetic and microwave absorbing properties of MoS2 modified Ti3C2Tx nanocomposites. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 30, 15250-15256.