Preparation and Characterization of CuFe₂O₄ Nanoparticles by the Sol-Gel Method and Investigation of its Microwave Absorption Properties at Ku-band Frequency using Silicone Rubber

Recently, using microwave devices emitting electromagnetic waves due to enhancing convenient life have been increased that can be harmful to the environment. In this study, CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were prepared through the conventional sol-gel procedure and then were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and vector network analyzer (VNA) using S parameters. Results illustrated that pure crystal structure of magnetic nanoparticles has been synthesized by the sol-gel method with 26.91 emu/g magnetic saturation (M_s). Finally, CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were composited by silicone rubber to investigate of its microwave absorption properties. Results showed that CuFe₂O₄/silicone rubber nanocomposite absorbed more than 94.87% of microwave at ku-band frequency with 1.7 mm thickness and the maximum reflection loss was -60.38 dB at 16.1 GHz. Magnetic and dielectric properties of the CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and silicone rubber polymeric matrix in the nanocomposite demonstrated desirable microwave absorption properties.