j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmrt

Review Article

A review on electromagnetic microwave absorption

properties: their materials and performance

Madiha Fathi Elmahaishi a, Raba'ah Syahidah Azis a,b,*, Ismayadi Ismail b,

Farah Diana Muhammad a
a
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Nanomaterials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory (NSCL), Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
(ION2), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

article info abstract

Article history: The elevated levels of electromagnetic (EM) radiation released by electronic instruments,
Received 28 May 2022 communication devices, and information processing technologies are becoming a major
Accepted 24 July 2022 concern nowadays. Consequently, great effort has been made to develop unique nano-
Available online 10 August 2022 materials to enhance the electromagnetic absorption properties of microwave-absorbing
materials. These materials should have superior reflection loss (RL), thin thickness, wide
Keywords: absorption bandwidth, low density, and light weightiness. This article discusses the elec-
Microwave absorption tromagnetic microwave absorption basic theory, the materials and the performance will be
Dielectric & magnetic absorber highlighted. The strategies scheme to enhance the absorption properties of microwave
High-performance MAMs absorbing materials (MAMs) will be elaborated. Metal-based composites often exhibit high
Reflection loss efficiency to fulfill coveted magnetic and dielectric characteristics. This review provides a
Single and double layer brief presentation of the useful theory of some selected microwave absorbers of ferrites
and composites of carbon-based materials. In addition, the classifications of microwave
absorbers according to important parameters for the fundamental microwave absorption
property of the substance are discussed. The effect of great potential application in mi-
crowave absorbing materials (MAMs) with thin thicknesses was also investigated.
Furthermore, this paper provides a comprehensive review study on several microwave
absorption materials and their fundamental mechanisms of microwave absorption,
dielectric loss, magnetic loss, dielectric/magnetic loss coupling, absorption bandwidth, and
the reflection loss (RL) values of nanomaterials. The electromagnetic and microwave ab-
sorption properties of sandwich absorbers by the single- and double-layer microwave
absorber, are studied intensively.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rabaah@upm.edu.my (R.S. Azis).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.07.140
2238-7854/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
1. Introduction
Although the prevalence of digital devices and the rapid
development of radar detection technology can make our lives
more convenient, public concern has grown about the
possible human health effects. Exposure to radio frequency
(RF) fields is known to produce adverse health effects, such as
skin burns and eye cataracts, due to health hazards from
environmental RF fields [1]. According to that, the design of
absorbers has occupied many material scientists, researchers,
and engineers, although the microwave absorber (MA) phe-
nomenon has been known for many decades and the cause of
absorption has been well formulated [2,3]. In addition to aca-
demic reasons, its practical impact on society has been
recognized. This is due to a large number of electromagnetic
(EM) waves that it would transmit into the living space of
human beings, leading to the grim problem of EM interfer-
ence, which not only causes damage to highly sensitive elec-
tronic equipment but also has a remarkable negative effect on
the physical health of humans. Recently, the problem has
garnered even more attention and has become more impor-
tant, thus making it more significant to be investigated in the
relevant research [1,2].
Recently, microwave absorption has received a lot of
attention due to its potential application in the field of
electromagnetic shielding [3]. Despite this, the materials that
absorb the microwave still suffer from many deficiencies,
such as the unwanted effect on the skin, easy oxidation, poor
heat stability, and narrow absorption frequency. Thus, new
materials that absorb microwaves are very desirable for
scientific and technological development [4]. Unfortunately,
one single material is usually unable to meet the re-
quirements of strong and wide bandwidth absorption.
Therefore, composites have become the potential microwave
absorbers in the future as they bear the advantages of each
building block unit while compensating the deficiencies of
each other. Therefore, composite materials will play a sig-
nificant and effective role in breaking the “bottleneck” to
developing high-performance materials for microwave ab-
sorption. Microwave absorption materials with the charac-
teristics of thinness, lightweight, broadband, and strong
absorption have gained much interest due to their pragmatic
and effective functions to reduce electromagnetic interfer-
ence pollution (EMI) [6,7]. So, it is necessary to develop and
expand the effective methods for fabricating new nano-
composites with the desired structure and excellent wave
absorbing properties to meet the requirements for their
actual application.
The term “nanocomposite” refers to two or more than one
compound in the nanometer range. The scope of the definition
of nanomaterials has expanded significantly to include a large
variety of systems such as one-dimensional, two-dimen-
sional, three-dimensional, and amorphous materials, which
are made from clearly differentiated components and mixed
on the nanometer scale. The nanocomposite materials' prop-
erties depend not only on the characteristics of their parents
but also on morphology and interstitial characteristics [5].
2189
2. Microwave absorption theory
According to microwave absorption theory, the incident
power can be divided into three parts when the EM waves
strike the absorbing materials: reflection, absorption, and
transmission. The transmitted wave is reflected on the sur-
face of the conductive layer, which generates multiple inter-
nal reflections. The reflection of the EM wave consists of
surface reflectance and numerous reflections. In general,
multiple reflections are known as the dispersive effect of in-
homogeneity within materials. Via the interaction of the
electromagnetic wave with the molecular and electronic
structure of the material, the incident microwave energy will
produce heat in the material that can transform the incident
EM waves into thermal energy and result in the absorption of
energy [6]. The reflection of the EM wave consists of surface
reflectance and numerous reflections. In general, multiple
reflections are known as the dispersive effect of in-
homogeneity within materials. Multiple reflections realized by
changing the properties of the materials (e.g. porous, hollow,
coreeshell, multi-layer, and hierarchical) can allow EM waves
to expand the propagation path and further increase the ab-
sorption potential of the absorber of the EM wave. In addition,
the inherent EM absorption capacities can also be enhanced
by changing the electromagnetic parameters. The absorbing
material is well understood to absorb the electromagnetic
waves when the signals propagate through it. This results in a
significant reduction of reflected microwaves from or trans-
mitted through the material.
Microwave absorbers are presented with two major fea-
tures of their electromagnetic properties. Magnetic loss is
the first feature, and dielectric loss is the second feature [7].
The dielectric loss represents the characteristic of electronic
interaction between the electric field of the incident elec-
tromagnetic radiation and the nanomaterial, which results
in reflection loss [8]; On the other hand, the magnetic loss
represents the characteristic of magnetic interaction be-
tween the nanomaterial and the electromagnetic wave [9].
By using normal measurement methods, i.e. direct mea-
surement of reflection in free space or indirect measurement
of their electromagnetic parameters, the classification of
absorbers can be achieved. Within a material matrix, ab-
sorbers typically consist of filler material. The filler is made
up of one or more components that absorb the most. The
matrix material is selected based on its physical properties
(temperature tolerance, weather-ability, etc.). Absorbers are
distinguished by their magnetic permeability (m* ¼ m' e j m'')
and their electrical permittivity (ε ¼ ε' e j ε'') [10,11]. They are
very significant parameters that can determine an absorber's
MA performance. The terms ε0 or m0 are correlated with
energy storage, and ε'' or m00 describes the dissipation of en-
ergy from conduction, dipolar, resonance, and relaxation
mechanisms [12].
The reflection loss (RL) represents the EM absorption ability
based on relative complex permittivity and relative complex
permeability, determined by the transmission line theory,
which is summarized in Eq (1) and Eq (2):
2190 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi h  . pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi i
Zin ¼ z0 mr =εr thanh j 2pGd c εr =mr
 
ðZin  Z0 Þ
RL ¼ 20 log  (2)
ðZin þ Z0 Þ
where εr represents the relative complex permittivity and mr is
the relative complex permeability, c, f, and d are the velocity of
light, microwave frequency, and absorber thickness, respec-
tively. Zin is the input impedance of the absorber, and ð Z0 ¼
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
m0 =ε0 ) is the impedance of free space. Therefore, less
reflection and a high RL of the EM wave will be achieved as the
values of er and mr converge.
Therefore, the reflection will decrease and the RL of the EM
will increase as the values of er and mr are closer. There should
be effective complementarity between dielectric and mag-
netic losses to achieve certain impedance characteristics to
obtain effective EM wave absorption. From Eq. (1), the
impedance matching characteristic (Z) of the sample can be
calculated, and the equation is shown in Eq (3):
Z ¼ jZin = Z0 j
The electromagnetic waves are not reflected on the surface
of the absorbing substance when Z is equal to or near 1, and all
incidents inside the absorbing body. The absolute value of the
reflection loss RL will exceed its maximal value at this time.
Any of the incident EM waves would be reflected on or travel
through the material's front surface without any dissipation if
the impedances do not align, resulting in very weak RL even
with good dielectric and magnetic losses. It must be
acknowledged that the lack of synergy between the dielectric
loss and the magnetic field contributes to a good balancing of
impedance and attenuation within the strong electromag-
netic wave absorber, thereby providing excellent absorption of
EM waves. Therefore, a key factor for high microwave ab-
sorption is excellent impedance matching [13].
3. Microwave absorbers and electromagnetic
shielding materials
Recently, the shielding of electromagnetic interference (EMI)
for radio frequency (RF) radiation has received great attention
from researchers and the general public in modern society
[14]. It has become very important to provide EMI protection
materials with certain properties, such as lightweight, effec-
tive to check the workspace, and the environment from the
radiation of computers and communication devices, as well as
to protect sensitive circuits. In the past decade, with the
brightness of nanotechnology, radar absorption materials
(RAM) had gained much attention due to the possibility of
increasing the effectiveness of protection and microwave
absorption while reducing the mass and size of contemporary
structures [15]. Adi et al. [16] also reported the importance of
electromagnetic interference and shielding in the electronics
field, where microwave absorption materials are used to
reduce the presence of electromagnetic wave interference
(EMI). Generally, high-frequency electronic components often
encounter problems such as frequency signal leakage, but if
the electronic device is in an open state or not in a closed
medium then the EMI will not be present. Nevertheless, the
(1)
signals travelling in a closed medium will be reflected back to
the device. This will cause the energy to increase in phase at
certain frequencies due to the appearance of the emitted EMI
in the form of noise, which then interferes with the perfor-
mance of these electronic devices. However, the effect of EMI
can be avoided by protecting the closed medium with micro-
wave absorbers. Wang et al. [17] had clarified the concept of
electromagnetic interference (EMI) and shielding as the pro-
cess by which disruptive electromagnetic energy is trans-
ferred from one electronic device to another through radiated
or connected paths, or jointly. It is also suggested that EMI
could be controlled by radiation or conduction, depending on
the type of coupling or pathway involved [18]. The electro-
magnetic interference shield, through the absorption mech-
anism, works according to the principle of absorbing the
interfering electromagnetic wave by converting the wave en-
ergy into thermal energy and then reducing the interference
to a very low value. Nevertheless, absorption shielding re-
quires several special design conditions for optimization of
(3) the absorber, and this shielding mechanism is dependent on
frequency. A microwave absorber (MAM) or a radar absorber
(RAM) are absorbents used for protection in a microwave or
radio frequency band [19]. EMI shielding can be obtained by
either reversing or absorbing the interfering electromagnetic
wave. Gogoi [19] also stated that metal is the best electro-
magnetic reflective material for protection, but the reflected
wave may interfere with the electronic component inside the
enclosure or in its vicinity.
The most important properties of the primary material
that achieves electromagnetic absorption are the imaginary
00
parts of complex permittivity ðε* ¼ ε0  jε Þ, complex perme-
00
ability ð m* ¼ m0  jm Þ, and complex conductivity ð s* ¼ s0 
00
js Þ, but no materials give high values for all of these param-
eters at all frequencies. In this regard, the condition for
complete impedance matching is m 0 /ε 0 to be equal to 1, i.e. m 0 /ε
0
¼ 1. In the microwave band, m 0 is smaller than ε 0 for most
materials, like magnetic materials. Now, as by impedance
matching, we can let EM waves enter the material, but then
the next step is to attenuate them as much as possible. Some
requirements for microwave EM parameters must be satisfied
to meet the condition of attenuation characteristics. The
higher values of ε" and m", the attenuation constant will be
greater and the attenuation will be larger. However, higher m"
values contribute to higher dielectric heating, which is not
desirable. Therefore, there is a need to manufacture vehicles
that meet the required set of characteristics [20]. There will be
no reflection of the interface of the electromagnetic wave
(when it is incident naturally) if ε* and m* from the medium are
equal, and the medium will provide the same resistance as
free space. Then, the EM wave will dissipate as it travels
through the medium, depending on the thickness of the me-
dium and the absorption properties. Ferrite is the only mate-
rial that gives similar complex permittivity and complex
magnetic permeability, albeit in a limited frequency range.
Micheli et al. [14] worked on several carbon-based nano-
structures in terms of their microwave electrical properties in
X-band (8.2e12.4 GHz) employing the waveguide method,
which has a unique structure and excellent properties of the
catalyzed and potential engineering applications, especially
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
for integration with advanced electronic devices. The work
describes the microwave loss materials whence of electrical
permittivity, which describes a substance's interaction with
an electric field and a complex quantity (ε T ¼ ε 0 e jε 00 ). From
the analysis of the theory of complex permittivity, the electric
field that produces two types of electrical effects is adopted
when the electromagnetic field is spread inside any insulating
material, which is the conduction current and the displace-
ment current. Free electrons (conduction current) produce an
effect that leads to power loss and is associated with the
imaginary permittivity (ε00 ); while interaction with bound
charges (displacement current) leads to the polarisation ef-
fect, which represents the real part of permittivity (ε0 ).
Therefore, the rise in the real part of the complex permittivity
can be attributed mainly to dielectric relaxation and the effect
of polarisation of the space charge, while the rise in the
imaginary part of the complex permittivity can be attributed
to the improved electrical conductivity of the material.
Electromagnetic shielding is a process to reduce the
penetration of EM waves into the desired space [15]. The
definition of shielding efficiency (SET) was presented by
Sukla [21] as a parameter that measures the quality of the
material that impedes the EM energy of a given frequency
passing through it. Generally, the shielding efficiency is
measured in terms of reducing the magnitude of the inci-
dent power and field when moving through the shield [18].
When an electromagnetic wave radiates an EMI shielding
material, the wave is subjected to reflection, transmission,
and absorption accidents, as shown in Fig. 1. The figure il-
lustrates that at the fall of the EM waves on the front of the
material, a certain portion of the incident power (PI) is re-
flected (PR), while another specific part is absorbed and
dissipated in the form of energy, and the remaining portion
is transmitted (PT) via the shielding material. When the EM
energy interacts with the electronic and molecular struc-
tures of the material, this reaction leads to the generation of
heat inside the material due to energy dissipation, which in
turn converts the incident EM wave into heat or other forms
of energy [15].
Fig. 1 e The schematic representation of the EMI shielding
mechanism [15].
2191
Therefore, the effectiveness of electromagnetic shielding
(SET) is the ratio of the impinging energy to the residual
energy, which also represents the sum of three different pro-
cesses consisting of reflection (SER), absorption (SEA), and
multiple internal reflections (SEM). These three processes
contribute to the whole attenuation, as shown in Eq. (4) [15,21]:
SET ¼ SER þ SEA þ SEM (4)
It is well known from the theory of the plane wave that the
amplitude of the electromagnetic wave decreases a lot inside
a tester as it passes. Consequently, the loss of absorption oc-
curs from ohmic losses and the heating of the material
because of induced currents in the medium. The shielding
efficiency SET is usually expressed in decibels (dB), and
mathematically can be expressed as a function of the loga-
rithmic scale of the incident as per expressions of transmitted
electrical intensity (E), magnetic (H), or plane wave (P) [17,18]:
PT ET HT
SET ðdBÞ ¼ 10 log 10 ¼ 20 log 10 ¼ 20 log 10 (5)
PI EI HI
where PI (EI or HI) and PT (ET or HT) represent the power of
(electric field intensity or magnetic field intensity) and plane-
wave field intensity of incident and transmitted EM waves
respectively.
4. The basics of microwave absorber (MA)
materials and their properties
Absorbing materials are classified by standard measurement
methods, i.e. direct measurement of the free-space reflection
or indirect measurements of their electromagnetic parame-
ters. One of the most important requirements for absorbers is
that the absorbent material reduces the reflection of the front
face and the matching of the impedance in the air to the ab-
sorption interface. The material must also increase the ab-
sorption of electromagnetic waves through the high values of
insulating and magnetic losses. In addition, it is expected that
these materials will be applied in a wide frequency band.
Absorption materials shouldn't require the use of an external
magnetic field. The absorbing materials should be light in
weight and thin.
Microwave absorbing materials with the properties of
thinness, lightweight, broadband, and strong absorption have
received rising attention because of their pragmatic and
effective functions for reducing electromagnetic interference
(EMI) pollution and defense stealth technology. The various
parameters used in the design of nanomaterials that play an
important role in the development of new materials for
microwave absorption have been highlighted in a recent
review by Mailadil et al. and others [22e24]. These materials
can provide strong adsorption properties, a wide frequency
range, low density, and thin samples. Dedicatedly, more re-
searchers have superseded their studies of nanocomposites.
By combining different nanomaterials, a new composite
material can be designed that shows excellent electromag-
netic wave absorption performance in the GHz band. The se-
lection of materials that have good EMI protection properties
depends on several parameters, such as dielectric behavior,
2192 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
conductivity, and magnetic features [25]. Furthermore, the
absorption properties of the electromagnetic waves of the
material depend on their dielectric properties, such as
permittivity and permeability. By incorporating dielectric and
magnetic padding, the electromagnetic proportions of these
materials can be improved to obtain the maximum absorption
of electromagnetic energy [26].
To this period, achieving all the desired properties of mi-
crowave absorbing materials that are shown in Fig. 2 with a
single material remains a challenge in microwave absorption
(MA) applications [27,28]. Several studies have sought to
overcome this limitation, as most researchers have explored
designing novel absorbers combined with strong magnetic
materials such as magnetic minerals and ferrite, and dielec-
tric materials such as carbon-based materials and conductive
polymers, leading to effective performances that enhance
microwave absorption materials to meet the future
challenges.
5. Structures and properties of some selected
microwave absorbers
Nowadays, there is a lot of interest in synthesizing new ma-
terials that can be used to make photocatalysts, microelec-
tronic devices, and other things that will be planar, smaller,
weightless, and perform well beyond the present state-of-the-
art. Methods for obtaining nanostructured materials, which
are of particular interest due to their structural properties as
well as a wide area of active surface, are among the many
methods for obtaining new materials. Despite a large number
of research papers on methods for obtaining nanostructures,
Fig. 2 e The desired characteristics of the microwave absorption materials [27,28].
interest in studying their properties, the influence of various
factors on the alteration of their structural and dimensional
characteristics, and the effect of structure and phase compo-
sition on the functional application of these nanomaterials
has not yet waned but keeps growing by the day. Perhaps the
lack of complete knowledge about the behavior of materials
and changes in phase composition on a nanoscale is the
driving force behind this [29]. This fact motivates all new
groups of researchers to continue to look for new materials,
study their structural characteristics, and look for realistic
applications. Numerous studies are currently being conducted
to discover novel and efficient microwave absorbing mate-
rials, such as those based on ferrite, carbon, and composite.
These materials have taken the nanotechnology platform by
storm, with exponential growth in its applications. Several
papers on ferrite and carbon-based nanocomposites have
been published. According to Fig. 3, the research of these
materials has reached an unexpectedly great height and has
emerged as a champion in the field of applied sciences. The
search on the Web of Science, Google Scholar, or Science-
Direct yields several thousand papers on ferrite/carbon/com-
posite. The publication trend since the year 2016 shows that
the amount of research has grown exponentially year by year.
Theoretical and experimental attempts aimed at devel-
oping microwave absorbers are largely linked to two main
characteristics of their electromagnetic properties. Absorber
materials perform by realising Maxwell's absorption equa-
tions, which state that material of equivalent electrical
permittivity and magnetic permeability should have no
interface reflection at normal incident since its impedance is
equal to that of free space [27]. The thickness of such a ma-
terial can be adjusted to achieve the optimal degree of
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
Fig. 3 e Publication trend in ferrite/Carbon/composite-based MAMs chronology since 2016e2020.
electromagnetic wave attenuation. Furthermore, whether the
material's relative permittivity or permeability is high or not, it
produces high electric or magnetic loss tangents, indicating
that it is a good absorber. As a result, absorber materials can
be divided into two categories: The first is based on enhanced
magnetic losses due to resonance phenomena in the higher
frequency region (>300 MHz). On the other hand, the second
characteristic has been linked to increased dielectric losses,
based on their permittivity [30].
Researchers discovered a form of magnetic material
known as ferrites that have considerably better absorption
properties than other magnetic materials in that regard,
where many advances have been achieved by ferrite
materials, which include self-bias magnetization, and
tunability of the magnetic anisotropy, low microwave loss,
and volumetric and weight reduction. Additionally, it has
been argued that there has been a long history of research into
carbon-based absorbers as a type of electromagnetic wave-
absorbing material that exhibits dielectric loss [31e34].
When using a pure carbonaceous material, the low magnetic
loss and high reflection coefficient affect the material's ab-
sorption properties.
5.1. Ferrite-based materials
Essentially, ferrites are ceramic materials that are dark grey or
black, which are very hard and brittle. Ferrites are magnetic
materials made up of oxides that contain ferric ions as the
main constituent (the term “ferrite” comes from the Latin
word “Ferrum” for iron) and are known as magnetic materials
because of their ferrimagnetic conduct [35,36]. Spinel is the
crystal lattice of ferrite. Ferrites are a type of spinel with a
crystal motif of cubic close-packed (or face-centered cubic,
FCC) oxides (O2), with M0 cations occupying one-eighth of the
tetrahedral holes and M00 cations occupying half of the
octahedral holes [37,38]. Spinel ferrites can be colorless, but
they are generally red, blue, green, yellow, and brown. Metal
ions can be located in octahedral and tetrahedral arrange-
ments. Fe3þ and Zn2þ ions prefer octahedral sites, while Fe2þ,
Ni2þ, and Mn2þ ions prefer to occupy the octahedral sites.
2193
Inverse spinel structures occur in NiZn ferrites and MnZn
ferrites, with a portion of the M atom occupying the tetrahe-
dral site and the M atom occupying the octahedral site [39].
The structure of ferrite (as shown in Fig. 4), whether garnet,
spinel, or magnetoplumbite, has its backbone as a close-
packed structure of oxygen anions. Magnetic and nonmag-
netic metallic cations reside in the interstices of the close-
packed oxygen lattice [39,40]. In the spinel structure (Fig. 3
(a, b)), these cations have four- or six-fold coordination in
the spinel system, forming tetrahedral and octahedral sub-
lattices that are organized in a close-packed arrangement.
There are also cation sites in hexaferrite with five-fold local
symmetry [41]. (Fig. 4 (c))
A ferrite core is created by pressing a powder mixture
containing the constituent raw materials into the desired
shape which is then sintered into a ceramic piece. The mag-
netic properties of the oxide are raised by the interactions
between metallic ions in specific positions relative to the ox-
ygen ions in the crystal structure [42]. Commercial ferrites are
divided into three distinct groups: (1) soft ferrites with garnet
structures, such as microwave ferrites (e.g., YIG); (2) soft fer-
rites with cubic spinel structures, such as NiZn-, MnZn-, and
MgMnZn ferrites; and (3) hard ferrites with magnetoplumbite
(hexagonal) structures, such as Ba and Sr hexaferrite. Each
group has its own crystal structure.
Ferrite materials are magnetic oxides that are insulating
[43]. They have high permeability and mild permittivity at
frequencies ranging from DC to millimeters, unlike most
materials [44]. There are no other materials with such a broad
range of utility to electronic applications in terms of power
generation, cooling, and conversion due to their low eddy
current losses. These properties make them useful, especially
in microwave devices that require strong coupling to electro-
magnetic signals as well as non-reciprocal behavior [45].
Initial permeability in the high-frequency region is an
important factor for high-frequency electronic devices such as
electromagnetic wave absorbers or inductor devices [46]. The
high-frequency permeability of ferrites, including all their
types (spinels, garnets, and hexaferrite), assumes a tensor
form due to the magnetically anisotropic and gyromagnetic
2194 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0

Fig. 4 e (a,b) Schematic representation of spinel and magnetoplumbite (hexagonal in symmetry) (c) structures [41].

nature of these materials [41,47]. The fact that the preces-
sional motion of the magnetic dipole moments is in one sense
of rotation for a given magnetic bias field direction gives rise to
these properties. The sense of rotation is reversed when the
field direction is reversed. As a consequence, the rotational
motion defies time-reversal symmetry, resulting in non-
reciprocal behavior [48]. The frequency of the precessional
motion is proportional to the magnitude of the magnetic bias
field, which is dependent on the demagnetizing field and the
magneto-crystalline anisotropy fields present in the ferrite in
addition to the externally applied magnetic field [49]. When
the sense of rotation is the same in both fields, the interaction
between a circularly polarised electromagnetic wave and the
precessional motion of the dipole moments is the greatest.
Only one propagation direction can interact strongly with the
ferrite since reversing the propagation direction is equal to
reversing the sense of rotation in a circularly polarised wave.
This direction-dependent nature of wave propagation in
ferrite materials allows for the development of non-reciprocal
devices like circulators and isolators. The external field will
influence the intensity of the interaction between the ferrite
and the wave, allowing for the production of tunable devices
such as phase shifters and filters [50]. At ferromagnetic reso-
nance, the strongest interaction occurs, resulting in a signifi-
cant attenuation of the wave. This property of ferrites is used
to construct various absorber devices [51,52].
As microwave technology requires higher frequencies and
bandwidths up to 100 GHz, there has been an increase in
demand for magnetic materials for high-frequency applica-
tions such as telecommunications and radar systems [53].
Within the past 5 years, the reports and the corresponding
citations about Ferrite-based MAMs had been ncreasing year
by year, as shown in the statistical data of the Web of Science
(Fig. 5). Ferrites are non-conducting oxides, so they allow full
penetration of electromagnetic fields, unlike metals, where
the skin effect severely restricts high-frequency field pene-
tration [54]. Domain walls are unable to follow the fields at
such frequencies (domain wall dispersion usually occurs at
about 10 GHz), and microwave power is absorbed by spin dy-
namics. The standard geometry is to match spins with a DC

Fig. 5 e (a) The article number of Ferrite-based MAMs and (b) the corresponding citations since 2017e2021.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
magnetic field H before applying a microwave field perpen-
dicular to H. At the frequency of the microwave field, the spins
process around their equilibrium orientation [55]. The
LandaueLifshitz equation of motion, which is a classic defi-
nition of the dynamics of this system, can be written in its
undamped form as follows:
dM
g M  Hi;
dt
where g is the gyromagnetic ratio (ratio of mechanical to the
magnetic moment, g ¼ ge/2mc ¼ 2.8 MHz/G, (Herein, g rep-
resents the effective g-factor of the investigated material, e is
the electron charge, m is the electron's mass, and c is the
velocity of light), M is the magnetization, and Hi is the total
internal field acting upon the spin. As follows: In the static and
time-dependent sections, the magnetization and field terms
can be divided as follows:
H ¼ Hi þ heiut ; M ¼ Ms þ meiut
where H is field intensity, u is the frequency, h is the oscil-
lating field, and Ms is the saturation magnetization.
These equations are singular, which can be written as:
u ¼ u0 ¼ gH0
H0 is the total field on the spins (external and internal); Eq (8),
also known as the Larmor equation, expresses the ferromag-
netic resonance (FMR) conditions. The uniform (in-phase)
precession of spins is associated with FMR. Since the inter-
action with the microwave field becomes negligible as u > u0 ,
the upper limit of ferrites applications is FMR. Spinels are used
at frequencies up to 30 GHz, while garnets are limited to
Fig. 6 e Structural illustration of some allotropes of Carbon occurring in different crystallographic forms [59,60].
2195
around 10 GHz and hexaferrite can reach 100 GHz [43]. Mi-
crowave absorption by ferrites involves losses, so a damping
or relaxation term is usually included in Eq (8). In poly-
crystalline ferrites, losses are linked to defects and the
anisotropy field distribution, and in electrical conduction, the
existence of Fe2þ, which promotes hopping conduction in
combination with Fe3þ, is a common issue, particularly in
(6) spinels. The physical origin of losses in polycrystalline ferrites
has recently been investigated in depth through effects on
linewidth; grain boundaries tend to play a significant role [41].
5.2. Carbon-based materials
Carbon has long been conventionally known to occur in two
natural crystalline allotropic forms, such as graphite and
diamond [31,56]. The chemistry of these two compounds, on
the other hand, varies significantly in terms of crystal struc-
tures and properties. Chemically, because of the valence
(7)
electron of carbon atoms, several other allotropes can be
formed. This happens as carbon atoms form covalent bonds
with other carbon atoms. To put this phenomenon into
context, allotropes are elements that are chemically similar
but have dramatically different physical properties. As a
(8)
result, an allotrope is formed when the atoms in a substance
with only one kind of atom are arranged differently [57]. For
this reason, numerous other allotropes and derivatives of
carbon, such as graphite (carbon black (CB)), graphene, buck-
minsterfullerene (nano-sized spheres of rolled-up graphene),
carbon nanotubes, etc., have been discovered, giving carbon
the highest number of identified allotropes when compared to
any other material [58], see Fig. 6.
2196 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
Fig. 7 e The article amount of Carbon-based MAMs and (b) the corresponding citations from 2017 to 2021.
Several carbon-based materials have shown promising
properties with improved performance in many applications
[61e65]. The structure and properties of these materials are
governed by the size of the carbon material, the number of
walls/layers, the type and density of defects, the chemical
functional groups on the surface of the carbon materials, and
the interfacial contact area between semiconductors and
carbon materials [66]. Thus, to obtain carbon materials with
improved performance, their synthesis must be carefully
designed and carried out to control their structures and
properties.
Carbon-based nanomaterials are outstanding microwave
absorption materials that can obtain good dielectric loss
through their excellent dielectric properties and rational
structural design, thereby bringing remarkable microwave
performance [34,67]. Furthermore, the low density of carbon-
based nanomaterials promotes the absorber to be light-
weight [68]. In addition, the surface of nano-carbon materials
presents abundant crystal defects, and unsaturated and
hanging bonds, that enhance interface polarisation and mul-
tiple scattering, thus good microwave absorption [69]. Prom-
ising nanoscale carbon-based materials that have been
studied recently for their properties are porous carbon [70],
carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [71], (reduced) graphene (GO) [72],
and carbon fibres [73]. These materials are useful as trans-
parent electrodes because of their high conductivity, which
allows ultrathin films of 1e100 nm thickness to achieve
adequate conductivity, and because they are optically trans-
parent. These carbon-based materials are appealing not only
for transparent electrode development but also for a variety of
other applications [74,75]. These materials have shown great
prospects in multiple applications to solve the environmental
and energy problems that we face today due to several factors,
such as their performance as microwave absorbers [6,76,77].
Till now, a significant factor in the design of microwave
absorbers concerned the absorption efficiency concerning
weight. In this regard, it is self-evident that the composite
consists of non-corrosive, lightweight polymer, and that the
nano-scale particles have a distinct advantage [78]. Carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) meet the criterion essentially [79], they
have several advantages owing to their capability of tailoring
the dielectric properties and possessing lightweight structures
without reducing mechanical properties, with typical values
of the elastic modulus in the order of 1 TPa, and tensile
strength within the range of 50e500 GPa. More importantly,
CNTs can be fabricated to yield good semiconducting prop-
erties with charge carrier mobility as high as 105 cm2/V.s, and
with a current-carrying capacity of over 109 A/cm [80]. This is
particularly appealing for creating cost-effective and light-
weight absorbers. Since carbon nanotubes are nonmagnetic,
their MA comes from polarization, Ohmic losses, or multiple
scattering due to their large specific surface area [81]. It's
worth noting that the various forms of CNTs have been clas-
sified for use in MA. Accordingly, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are
a new generation of carbon-based absorbing materials with
tunable dielectric properties, strong high-temperature oxida-
tion resistance, high conductivity, high aspect ratio, and super
mechanical strength. Based on previous studies, composites
of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or carbon fibres (CFs) and mag-
netic metals and their oxides can improve the absorption
performance even further [82,83].
Graphene (G) materials have attracted a lot of attention for
electromagnetic wave suppression due to their variety of
remarkable properties, including low density, high specific
surface area, large aspect ratios, and versatile processing
[84e86]. Due to polarisation relaxation induced by defects,
graphene-derived materials usually have a high microwave
absorption potential. According to Qiang Cao [87], while gra-
phene's EM wave ability is lacking, ultrathin graphene may be
a promising candidate for a lightweight, high-efficiency mi-
crowave absorber in thermally demanding environments. The
ultrathin, lightweight graphene demonstrates high-efficiency
microwave absorption at elevated temperatures, as well as
thermal-stability permittivity. Exploratory efforts have been
made in recent years to build graphene-based heterofillers
with tunable complex permittivity and permeability to meet
impedance matching conditions. Several studies were carried
out with the incorporation of other lossy materials as the
imperative solution to improve the MA performance of the
sole graphene material [88e90]. This is because it suffers from
poor dispersion in the matrix, interfacial impedance mis-
matching due to improper electrical conductivity, and a
limited loss mechanism [91e93]. However, the absorption
bandwidths of all graphene-based MA composites ever
recorded have been only a few gigahertz, far narrower than
those of traditional broadband microwave absorbents such as
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
carbonyl iron [94]. Furthermore, much less effort has been
devoted to the convenient absorption regulation of an existing
graphene-based MA material as it is important for practical
application, compared to unhandily changing either coating
thickness or loading content. Due to its great potential in the
field of EM properties, the 2D structure of graphene, with the
advantage of low density and remarkable electric properties,
has attracted growing scientific interest. Furthermore, gra-
phene has favorable properties for the preparation of hybrid
materials and functionalities that are close to inorganic/
organic materials, giving hybrid materials unique physical
properties. Another example of carbon-based nanomaterials
is a 3D interconnected graphene network made from 2D gra-
phene sheets [95e97]. Zhang et al. [84] recently synthesized a
macroscopic 3D free-standing graphene foam (GF) with air-
similar densities, adjustable electrical conductivity, and ul-
trahigh compressibility using the self-assembly process,
paving the way for graphene to be used as a superlight,
adjustable, and broadband high-performance MA material.
Liu et al. [97] used thermal reduction of graphene oxide/PVA
networks to synthesize 3D thermally reduced graphene net-
works. Then, a vacuum was used to fill the graphene networks
with wax. The porous structures in the networks lower the
density of the thermally reduced graphene networks, allowing
for more surface area for reflection. Defects that occur during
the thermal reduction of graphene sheets can serve as polar-
isation centers, causing polarisation relaxation to increase.
According to the aforementioned properties, carbon-based
nanomaterials have superior dielectric properties, resulting in
a low dielectric loss. Carbon-based nanomaterials with a high
degree of graphitization, in particular, have a high electrical
conductivity, which increases the imaginary part of the rela-
tive complex permittivity, resulting in good conduct loss.
Naturally, this leads to the carbon-based nanomaterials'
dielectric loss and increases their EM microwave properties
[98]. Furthermore, high specific surface area, porous, and
heterogeneous carbon-based nanomaterials with good inter-
facial polarisation can be inherited through their construction
[99]. Carbon-based nanomaterials would eventually be able to
achieve relatively strong EM wave absorption properties.
However, due to the low magnetic loss of carbon-based
nanomaterials, effective impedance matching is difficult. As
a result, achieving impressive EM wave absorption efficiency
for corresponding absorbers is always difficult.
6. Types of microwave absorbers
The absorption of microwave materials depends on several
parameters, including the impedance matching of the absor-
bent material with the free space, the specific resistance of the
material, the frequency and the flexibility of the material to
operate across different frequency ranges, dielectric losses,
magnetic losses, etc. There is a wide range of microwave
materials available currently, but each material has optimal
absorption properties in a specific frequency range and under
certain control parameters. Among all the parameters, there
are two important parameters on which the absorption
property of the substance depends. The first is dielectric losses
and the second is magnetic losses [100].
2197
6.1. Dielectric absorber
The dielectric properties of the material produce dielectric
loss, which refers to EM wave loss when the material is
exposed to EM waves. Permittivity (e) is the measure of the
material's influence on the electric field when the material
interacts with electromagnetic waves, which is represented
00
by its real and imaginary parts as ðε* ¼ ε0  jε Þ. e' represents
the real part of electric permittivity and it differs significantly
from the frequency, e'' is the imaginary part of electric
permittivity and it is a measure of the attenuation of the
electric field caused by the medium [101]. The dielectric loss is
represented by the imaginary part of the dielectric constant
(εr) and is usually measured by the tangent of the dielectric
loss angle (tan de ¼ εr00 /εr0 ) [102]. Dielectric loss is associated
with both conductive loss and polarisation loss. The conduc-
tive loss depends on the electrical conductivity, and the
polarisation loss originates from the atomic, electron, dipole,
and interfacial polarization. While the atomic and electron
polarization would be eliminated since they exist only at high
frequencies.
6.2. Magnetic absorbers
The magnetic loss is specifically related to the material under
an applied alternating electric field, and part of the energy of
the incident EM wave is irreversibly transformed into thermal
energy due to the magnetization of the materials being mag-
netised [103]. The impedance matching between material and
free space, which includes mr ¼ er, is one of the key factors for
having ideal wave absorption with the reflection loss (RL ¼ -
∞). The magnetic material, however, typically has high
permittivity and mild permeability, resulting in low imped-
ance characteristics [104]. Therefore, the frequency of the
minimum reflection loss or dip in RL cannot be explicitly
predicted by the material's magnetic or dielectric resonance
frequency [105,106]. Instead, the occurrence of the minimum
reflection of the microwave power on the material surface can
be well defined [107]. The researches based on magnetic metal
nanoparticles has been fairly active for decades, due to their
unique properties and structures, as well as potential appli-
cations [25,108,109]. Metals (alloys) can still have a rise in EM
parameters in the high-frequency range due to large satura-
tion magnetization and higher Snoek limits [110]. The prop-
erties of magnetic materials such as ferrite have a complex
semi-constant permittivity (mr* ¼ m'r e j m''r), so the imaginary
part m''r of complex permeability mr contributes greatly to the
absorption of microwaves, and dispersal occurs in specific
frequency regions where the large part is m''r and the real part
m'r is small [111].
6.3. Features of electromagnetic properties of microwave
absorption; magnetic losses and dielectric losses
In general, high absorption performance depends on two
main parameters in the design of a microwave absorber: the
incoming microwave can penetrate the absorbers with a slight
reflection, and the absorbers can efficiently attenuate the
transmitted microwave [112]. The impedance matching con-
dition determines the first factor, whereas the inherent EM
2198 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
loss determines the second. Numerous studies have
confirmed that it is difficult to achieve proper impedance
matching in single-dielectric or magnetic lossy materials, in
which dielectric and magnetic materials are mixed in a proper
ratio to adjust the frequency dependency of the permittivity
and permeability [113e115]. Most microwave absorption
consists of magnetic loss powders like ferrite, nickel, and co-
balt, and loss of dielectric loss materials such as carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) and conductive polymers [116]. Wang et al.
briefed that [117] although the ability to absorb carbon nano-
tubes is very weak, previous reports show that carbon nano-
tubes and magnetic materials will show excellent microwave
absorbing properties [118,119]. Investigation of high-
frequency magnetic, dielectric, and microwave absorbing
properties was carried out on various nano-composites, aim-
ing for the gigahertz (GHz) frequency range of the microwave
absorbers [120]. The lossy filler includes non-magnetic mate-
rials such as carbon black, multi-walled carbon nanotubes
(MWCNT), graphene, as well as magnetic materials such as
carbon iron energy (CIP) and ferrites, which are used to
implement microwave absorption structures [121e124].
Numerous studies have concluded that carbon materials are a
type of material that absorbs electromagnetic waves and
shows an insulating loss. A pure carbon material shows the
absorption property of the material is affected by its low
magnetic loss and high reflection coefficient [125]. To alleviate
this defect, researchers used electroplating, precipitation, or
coating on the surface of carbon materials to load magnetic
particles such as carbonyl iron, Fe3O4, Ni, and FeeCo to
enhance the absorption properties of the material [126e128].
Wei et al. [32] successfully synthesised a carbon fibre (CF)/
magnetic particle composite by the carbonization of an as-
impregnated Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based pre-oxidized
fiber/metal salt, such that the formed magnetic particles can
be well dispersed on the surface of CFs. In their study, mag-
netic particles (such as Fe3O4, NiFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and Ni3Fe),
being magnetic loss materials, uniformly disperse along the
surface of carbon fibers by carbonization in the nitrogen at-
mosphere, which plays a key role in the absorption of elec-
tromagnetic waves. The minimum reflection loss (RL) of the
synthesised carbon fiber/magnetic particle composite is
30.62 dB at 11.74 GHz because of the enhanced dielectric loss
from the magnetic Fe3O4, NiFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and Ni3Fe parti-
cles and lightweight carbon-based fibers. The study shows
that it is possible to control the absorption of carbon fibers/
magnetic particle compounds by modifying the types and
concentrations of magnetic particle coatings, which provides
a new and effective way to give the excellent microwave ab-
sorption properties of the carbon fibers coated with magnetic
particles. The formed composites show good electromagnetic
wave absorption capabilities as well as wide absorption
bandwidths at a lower concentration (0.0625 mol L1, n (Fe): n
(Co): n (Ni) ¼ 2: 2: 1). Moreover, it can achieve an effective
bandwidth (RL <  10 dB) of 7.4 GHz in a wide frequency range
from 8.7 to 16.1 GHz. A high value of magnetic permeability
and dielectric constant can also be obtained in compounds
containing thin iron particles prepared by mechanical forging
of spherical iron powders using a drain mill [100]. All previous
work also suggests that the improvement of microwave ab-
sorption properties is due to a large combination of dielectric
and magnetic loss, which leads to an increase in space charge,
polarisation of the orientation, and appropriate impedance
matching [129]. Because there must be sufficient knowledge of
the complex permittivity εr and permeability mr* when
designing microwave absorbers, in this review, the values of
the complex permittivity εr* and permeability mr are presented
for different composite materials, including magnetic and
dielectric components, that have been designed from several
previous studies as shown in Table 1. By varying the ratio of
these composition volumes, the values of the complex
permeability (mr* ¼ m'r e j m''r) and complex permittivity (εr* ¼ ε0 r
e j ε''r) can be changed. Their results are applied to designing a
microwave absorber to tailor the reflection loss and the cen-
tral frequency to particular requirements [130] (see Table 2).
7. View studies on dielectric loss-based
microwave absorption materials
Conventional functional microwave absorbing materials such
as ferrites, magnetic metals, intrinsically conducting poly-
mers, and others may be unable to satisfy the absorption de-
mands due to high density and narrow bandwidth. For
instance, magnetic materials suffer from low absorption effi-
ciency in the GHz range and beyond because of their increased
density, whereas intrinsically conducting polymers have a
deficiency due to a lack of environmental stability and poor
processing. The metals have been excessively used as
shielding materials to mitigate the EMI problems due to their
high electrical conductivity and effective shielding efficiency
[144e147]. Recently, dielectric loss materials and polymer
composites containing conductive nanocomposites, for
example, carbon nanofibers (CNFs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs),
and graphene [117], have gained increasing interest over
metals due to many advantages such as low-cost, light weight,
good corrosion resistance, and ease of processing [148]. There
are many materials, which are referred to as “resistance,” that
can absorb electromagnetic waves and convert electrical en-
ergy into heat. However, the mechanisms underlying this
energy conversion can be divided into resistors, magnetic and
dielectric, depending on the absorption material, the absorp-
tion range, and other factors [130].
7.1. Microwave absorber (MA) properties of carbon-
based nanomaterials material
To optimize the performance of microwave absorbing mate-
rials, there exists a quest for lightweight and highly efficient
materials for EMI shielding applications. Recently, carbon-
based materials have gained popularity for their unique
properties such as lightweight, processing benefits, flexibility,
resistance to corrosion, and extraordinary electrical, me-
chanical, and thermal properties along with dielectric polar-
isation properties in microwave absorbing technologies [149].
Carbon materials are most widely used as promising absor-
bents in materials that absorb microwaves in reducing the
backscattering of objects or radar targets, EMI inhibitors, and
paints [150e152]. Various carbon materials, such as carbon
black (CB) [153], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [154], carbon nano
fibers (CNFs), carbon nanospheres (CNSs), and reduced
Table 1 e The microwave absorption properties of the combination between dielectric and magnetic loss-based materials and their performance from recent literature.
Type Samples Dielectric Magnetic Morphology Preparation RL G d ε0 at ε" at tandε at m0 at m" tandm Studied Ref.
losses loss method (dB) (Hz) (mm) Max Max Max Max at Max at Max properties
Carbon e Fe@carbon CF Fe Nanoflake in situ 36.98 11.6 1.8 14.4 2.5 0.17 1.18 0.23 0.19 specific [33]
Metal fiber particles reduction surface area
nanocomposites (Fe@CF)
MnONPs@ RGO, Si MnONPs Hierarchical a hydrothermal 54.04 17.9 1.59 11.2 3.10 0,27 1.30 0.10 0.07 lightweight, broad [131]
SiCw/RGO strategy followed bandwidth, and
with thermal high-efficiency
treatment absorption

j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
(SCFs@Fe3 SCFs Fe3O4 Honeycomb-like one-step 40.8 11.9 1.9 9.80 2,10 0.21 1.70 0.32 0.18 Ultra-high [73]
O4@PR) porous hydrothermal complex
method permittivity
NSZnO/Zn/CF CF NSZnO/Zn Nanosheet Annealing the 39.42 3.23 4.5 10.9 27.8 0.27 0.94 1.15 1.2 Strong [132]
zinc-covered absorption,
carbon fibers wide-frequency,
with lightweight
electroplating
route
CB/SiC CB SiC Microstructure A ball mill 41 9 2 15.8 2.2 0.09 e e e Absorption [133]
and properties
ultrasonic
mixer
MWCNTs/Ni MWCNT Ni Nanocomposites Chemical 46.85 6.56 3.7 11.0 3.1 0.28 1.04 0.56 0.53 Impedance [134]
vapor matching
deposition properties
(CVD) method
Si(2)-rGO@Fe3O4/ rGO, Si Fe3O4 Nanostructure Hydrothermal 32.1 3.68 7.0 10 3 0.31 0.95 0.0 0.0 Impedance [135]
PVDF-co-HFP reaction mismatching
and narrow
bandwidth
Graphene-coated G Fe Heterostructure Combination of 45.0 7.1 3.0 4.2 12.2 2.9 1.4 0.25 0.17 Improve [136]
Fe nanocomposites the hydrothermal interfacial
and reduction coupling
reactions between
graphene and Fe
Carbon-coated Carbon (C) Ni Core/shell Chemical 26.73 12.7 2.0 12.8e4.9 7.1 0.80 1.5e1.0 0.4 0.32 Relative complex [137]
nickel Ni(C) microstructure process permittivity and
nanoparticles permeability
Carbon (C) @ Carbon BaMg0.2Co0.8 Core-Shell A combination 45.2 17.56 1.8 14.4 6.0 0.41 1.9 0.29 0.15 Static [122]
BaMg0.2Co0.8 (C) TiFe10O19 structure of hydrothermal magnetic
TiFe10O19 (BMCTF) carbonization measurement
(BMCTF) hexaferrite and (coercivity (Hc)
hexaferrite carbothermal and the
reduction saturation
processes magnetization (Ms)
Carbonyl Iron/ Tic Carbonyl Hybrid A simple 25.1 10.0 1.7 11.3 0.14 0.01 1.49 0.88 0.5 Electromagnetic [138]
Titanium Iron (CI) powders mechanical and microwave
carbide (Tic) method absorption
Hybrid properties
Powders

2199
(continued on next page)
 2200
Table 1 e (continued )
Type Samples Dielectric Magnetic Morphology Preparation RL G d ε0 at ε" at tandε at m0 at m" tandm Studied Ref.
losses loss method (dB) (Hz) (mm) Max Max Max Max at Max at Max properties
Metal e Organic- Organic- polyaniline Embedded- Combining 23.1 8e12 2.3 21.0 11.9 0.56 0.99 0.02 0.02 Phase [139]
Metal inorganic inorganic PA structure the arc- identification,
nanocomposites Sm2Co14 Sm2Co14B melting morphology,
B/polyaniline process and and
PA the in situ magnetic
oxidative properties
polymerization

j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
method
Fe/Ti TiO2 Fe (CO) Powder Mixing with 40 7.8 1.62 4.6 1.2 0.26 0.0 1.2 0.0 Matching [140]
hyperon in frequency &
various matching
mixing ratios, thickness
and molded
in a toroidal
shape
CoNi@SiO2@ SiO2 and CoNi Hierarchical Solegel/ 58.2 8.1 2.1 e e e e e e [141]
TiO2 and TiO2 microspheres solvothermal/ Magnetic and
CoNi@Air@TiO2 hydrothermal dielectric
route synergistic effect
ZnO/Fe3O4/ ZnO Fe3O4 Amorphous Physical 12.92 1.66 5.0 6.0 1.2 0.21 1.0 2.9 0.0 Adjust position, [142]
paraffin structure blending intensity, and
composites technology absorption
bandwidth.
Sr-modified Sr NiO Crystalline Solegel 21.07 10.4 1.9 7.98 3.0 2.6 1.05 0.1 0.09 Sr substitution [103]
La2 structure method on structure,
exSrxNiO4±d conductive, and
nickelates dynamic
electromagnetic
properties
Ba0.85RE0.15 W-type Polyaniline A coreeshell A facile 15.1 9.4 3.5 5.2 0.95 0.18 1.37 0.33 0.24 Properties in [137]
Co2Fe16O27- hexagonal (PANI) architecture route of low- microstructure
polyaniline ferrite (Ba0.85 temperature and static
composites RE0.15Co2 solegel magnetization
Fe16O27) self-propagating
combustion
Ba0.9 Reduced Ba0.9 Ternary A co-precipitation 49.1 14.08 1.9 14.9 10.5 0.71 0.94 0.0 0.0 Electromagnetic [143]
La0.1Fe11.9 graphene La0.1Fe11.9 nanocomposites method and in situ parameters and
Ni0.1O19/ oxide (rGO) Ni0.1O19 polymerization microwave
reduced & (PANI) absorption
graphene properties
oxide/
polyaniline
ternary
nanocomposites
(BF/RGO/PANI)
Table 2 e Marketable microwave absorption performances (RL parameter) of various Nano-composites in previous reports.
Absorber Preparation method RL (dB) Frequency, Thickness (mm) & Effective References
f (GHz) Loading factor (%) absorption
bandwidth (GHz)
Fe3O4/MWCNTs Co-precipitation of Fe2þ and Fe3þ, and 75 dB 8.3e13.6 3 mm, 20% 11 [207]
an additional process of in situ
polymerization of aniline monomer

j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
Ni@C@ZnO Chemicals process 55.8 14.3 2.5 mm, 25% 4.1 [208]
MWCNTs/FeeNi alloy/NiFe2O4 Hydrothermal method and In-situ 85 12 2 mm 4.2 [209]
(M/F/N) polymerization method
Nanoporous carbon (NPC) Derives from HKUST-1 60 3.7 1.65 mm 5.6 [67]
Multilayer graphene/h-BN An oxidation-thermal expansion-air 67.35 8.04 3.29 mm, 40% 2.9 [210]
nanoparticle (MG/h-BNNP) convection shearing process
hybrids
Fe3O4 carbon nanotubes A simple solvothermal method 43 9.7 1.5 mm, 30% 8.3 [211]
(CNTs) composites
C/Co/Co3O4 nanocomposites A simple method, including a two-step 84.75 6.61 3.0 mm 8.5 [212]
cooling process
Ti3C2Tx MXenes A simple catalytic chemical vapor 52.9 9.6 1.55 mm, 35% 4.46 [213]
deposition (CVD) process
Fe3O4/C Core-Shell Nanorings A facile strategy 61.54 16.9 1.5 mm, 25% 3.6 [214]
CNTCFs Catalytic chemical vapor deposition 42.0 11.4 2.5 mm 2.7 [215]
method
MOF-Co@CNTs Pyrolyzing a ZIF-67/g-C3N4 precursor 59.5 17.57 1.6 mm, 8% 5.27 [216]
SeMo2C/C-6.0 Solvothermal method 60.4 15 1.5 mm 4.8 [217]
RGO/NiO Facile pyrolyzation process 55.5 10.6 3.5 mm 6.7 [218]
Oxideecarbon/reduced A facile solvothermal and high- 60.5 4.8 3.6 mm, 2.43 wt%, 5.5 [103]
graphene oxide (Fe3O4eC/RGO) temperature pyrolysis two-step
strategy
RGO/Fe3O4/ZnO A facile solvothermal process in 57 13.5 2.0 mm 10.8 [219]
combination with the
co-precipitation route
FeCo/graphite nanosheets (p-FCG) Speedy and facile liquid 53.96 14.94 1.3 mm, 40% 4.3 [33]
reduction method
CoFe@C@MnO2 A three-step method 64 15.6 1.3 mm 9.2 [220]
The cubic hollow Co/N/C@MnO2 Metaleorganic frameworks (MOFs) 58.9 11 3.7 mm 5.5 [221]
self-templated eco-friendly method
Fe2O3/Fe3O4/MWCNTs A facile hydrothermal method 44.1 10.4 2.5 mm 3.3 [222]
MWCNTseepoxy composite Filtration followed by compression 60 8.3 1.75 mm 4.6 [223]
molding
HNBR/MWCNT A two-roll mill at room temperature 49.3 12.1 2 mm, 10% 6.0 [151]
Ti3C2 MXenes HF etching and annealing treatment. 48.4 11.6 1.7 mm 4.21 [224]
Yolkeshell Fe3O4@N-doped Magnetic-field-induced distillation- 63.09 11.91 3.1 mm, 20% 5.34 [225]
carbon nanochains precipitation polymerization

*The results summarized here concern primarily the maximum of the reflection loss RL (dB), the corresponding frequency, and the effective absorption bandwidth over 10 dB. The table includes

2201
findings available from the literature up to February 2021.
2202 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
graphene oxide (rGO) [155], are promising candidates for high-
performance MA materials due to their chemical stability,
tunable dielectric properties, high specific modulus, and low
density [156,157]. Intensive research has revealed the fabri-
cation of a novel iron-coated carbon fiber via an electro-
chemical method [110,113], CNTs filled with magnetic
particles (Fe, Co, Ni) [158], and CNT-filled ferromagnetic alloy
nanowires [154]. Furthermore, complex formations of iron-
coated carbon fiber have also been utilized as carbon nano-
tube (CNT) forests are first cultivated on carbon fibers (CF)
through a catalytic chemical precipitation method [159],
magnetic particle/carbon-based nanohybrids [160], hexagonal
boron nitride nanocrystal (BNNC)/graphene nano flakes
composites [161], a novel route to coat carbon fibers with
boron nitride (BN) nanosheets [162] and carbon black/silicon
carbide composites [133] demonstrate excellent microwave
absorption characteristics which are driven through both
dielectric and magnetic losses. Qin et al. [31] reported micro-
wave absorption properties of different carbon-based polymer
composites. Carbon based polymer composites are light-
weight absorbers that demonstrate higher microwave ab-
sorption and mechanical flexibility. Carbon black, carbon
fibers, CNTs, and graphene can be used as fillers in polymer
matrixes in order to increase conductivity.
Zhai et al. [151] mixed hydrogenated acrylonitrile-
butadiene rubber (HNBR) with three kinds of carbon fillers,
which are carbon fiber (CF), and conductive carbon black
(CCB), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) to pre-
pare microwave absorbing composites. The results show the
measurement of complex permittivity and electrical conduc-
tivity of their composites in microwave frequencies
(2e18 GHz), in addition to studying their electromagnetic
characteristics and microwave absorbing performance. The
complex arrangement of increasing electrical conductivity
and permittivity concerning the filling type is
MWCNT > CCB > CF when loading the filling. According to
their results, HNBR/MWCNT composites feature higher con-
duction loss, dielectric relaxation, and a stronger dispersion
than the HNBR/CCB and HNBR/CF composites because of the
high conductivity, surface area, and aspect ratio of MWCNT.
Their study indicates the performance of microwave absorp-
tion depends on both the intrinsic properties of the absorbing
layer (i.e., conductivity, complex permittivity, and perme-
ability) and external parameters (i.e., the thickness of the
absorption layer and working frequency). The calculated
reflection loss of the absorbing layer at different thicknesses
from 0 to 4 mm is 49.3 dB for the HNBR/MWCNT (100/10)
composite, with a 10 dB absorption bandwidth of 3.8 GHz. In
addition, Cui LR et al. [159] investigated the EM properties of
coreeshell BaTiO3@carbon microspheres with a space-
confined strategy. A series of comparative experiments from
that study clearly show that the coreeshell microstructure
could be taken as a desirable configuration for microwave
absorption, where the minimum RL value can reach up to
88.5 dB at 6.9 GHz with a thickness of 3.0 mm.
Ting et al. [62] used two dielectric materials, which consist
of manganese dioxide (MnO2) and multi-wall carbon nano-
tubes (MWNTs) in an epoxy-resin matrix [160]. Their study
concentrated on the investigation of microwave absorption
properties of dielectric composites with different weight
fractions of MnO2 by measuring the complex permittivity, the
complex permeability, and the reflection loss in the 2e18 and
18e40 GHz microwave frequency ranges using the free space
method. With the MnO2 content, there is a difference between
the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity, and
the results indicate that the dielectric constant raises with
increasing MnO2 content in the MnO2/MWNT matrix. It is
possible to modify the optimum composition of the micro-
wave absorption properties by controlling the MnO2 content in
the samples, allowing the realization of the required fre-
quency bands. Due to good reflection performance as well as
simple and low-cost preparation methods, the MnO2/MWNT
compound can be used as a broadband microwave absorber.
7.2. Dielectric properties and microwave absorption of
graphene composite materials
Recently, several types of materials have been selected for
microwave absorption applications; the most important of
these are carbon-based nanoparticles. Among these particles,
as the latest addition to the carbon family, graphene is
becoming a focus in nano-carbon research activities due to its
many distinct advantages of absorbing electromagnetic radi-
ation, making it suitable for the applications of microwave
isolation [117,161]. The properties of graphene, such as light-
weight, high thermal conductivity, specific ultra-large surface
area to thickness ratio, high corrosion resistance [148], high-
temperature resistance, and exceptional electrical conduc-
tivity, have received a lot of attention as a promising material
for microwave absorption and supercapacitors [162,163].
Many papers, however, have confirmed that graphene has a
high dielectric loss but has very poor attenuation properties to
electromagnetic waves due to its high conductivity
[117,164,165]. Consequently, such an issue has hindered the
practical applications of graphene-based nanocomposites in
the field of microwave absorption materials [135]. Several
studies, on the other hand, found that the deposition of other
dielectric nanostructures on the surface of graphene sheets is
an effective method for fabricating lightweight materials
capable of absorbing strong electromagnetic waves [164,166].
Briefly, graphene composite is generally synthesized from
graphite powder. The permittivity of the real and imaginary
parts of graphene increases with the increase in frequency
due to the MaxwelleWagner polarisation effect [167]. Then,
the permittivity starts to decrease as the frequency increases,
exhibiting an obvious frequency-dependent dielectric
response. This usually arises from the lag of the induced
charges to follow the reversing external field at high fre-
quencies and finally causes a reduction in the electronic os-
cillations. The two permittivity peaks of graphene indicate a
resonance behavior, which usually emerges when the mate-
rial is highly conductive.
Rubrice et al. [161] reported that the dielectric character-
istics and microwave absorption properties of epoxy resin
loaded with graphene particles were studied from 2 GHz to
18 GHz. This work reported that the dielectric characteristics
and microwave absorption properties of epoxy resin loaded
with graphene particles were studied from 2 GHz to 18 GHz. In
this work, the influence of various parameters such as particle
size (3 mm, 6e8 mm, and 15 mm) and weight ratio (from 5% to
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
25%) has been discussed. The study shows that filling the
epoxy resin with the smallest graphene particles contributes
to high loss tangents in microwaves, leading to the high ab-
sorption of electromagnetic waves by the composite mate-
rials. In addition, a lower dielectric constant will be preferred
to restrict the impedance mismatch in the interface between
the air and surface samples, thereby restricting the reflec-
tance of the electromagnetic waves in this interface, and thus
the compound material provides a high absorption level. This
work also agrees with the study by Hailong et al. [164]. They
grew polyaniline (PANI) nanorod arrays on the surface of
graphene sheets by an in-situ polymerization process. This
results in the significantly enhanced electromagnetic ab-
sorption properties of the polyaniline nanorods being
perpendicularly grown on the surface of graphene using an in
situ polymerization process. The maximum reflection loss
reaches 45.1 dB with a thickness of the absorber of only
2.5 mm. The improvement of the electromagnetic absorption
properties is due to the unique structural properties and
charge transfer between the graphene and polyaniline
nanorods.
The latest research states that the electronic interaction
between graphene and metal will lead to the transfer of
charges and the change of the electronic properties of gra-
phene, giving rise to some new electrical and magnetic
properties in the exact structure of metallic graphene
[168e171]. Zhao et al. synthesized the graphene-coated Fe
nanocomposites (Fe/G) and investigated their microwave ab-
sorption properties. The dielectric properties of this Fe/
graphene-coated structure are greatly improved, due to the
interfacial coupling between graphene and Fe, which leads to
excellent microwave absorption performance in a wide fre-
quency range [172]. This work provides a new approach to
exploring high-performance microwave absorbers as well as
expanding the application field of graphene-based materials.
They observed good microwave absorption performance in
Fe/G nano-composites, which is due to the charge transfer at
the Fe/graphene interface and the polarisation of the free
carriers in the graphene. The reflection loss (RL) of the sam-
ples was calculated based on the data of er and mr. The peak
values of RL for Fe/G, for different thicknesses, are all near
30 dB, and the minimum RL is about 45 dB at 7.1 GHz.
8. Development of high-performance MAMs
8.1. Effect of thin thickness of the absorber on MA
performance
The rapid development of modern industries has highlighted
the significance and the urgent need for developing high-
performance electromagnetic wave absorbents to satisfy so-
cial and industrial requirements. Recent signs of progress
have achieved ultra-broadband absorption, but it is still
necessary to explore broadband absorption performance in
low microwave frequencies to meet the specific application.
Previous literature shows that low-frequency absorbing
structures often have the disadvantages of narrow bandwidth
or large thickness [173,174]. Although much effort has been
devoted by scientists and engineers to continue to synthesize
2203
the bandwidth of absorption as wide as possible while making
the thickness as thin as possible, it remains a challenge to
acquire ultra-wideband and high-efficiency absorption
covering low frequencies with an ultrathin matching thick-
ness. In practical applications, different microwave absorp-
tion bands should be selected with an appropriate thickness.
Several research results have shown that it is crucial to adjust
the thickness of the nanocomposite for application at
different frequencies [10,141]. By comparing the positions of
the reflection loss peaks of composite materials with different
thicknesses, it can be found that as the thickness of the ma-
terial increases, the position of the reflection loss peak moves
to a lower frequency band, and the peak value decreases
[88,175].
The work of Fei [141] provides a unique direction for
designing and synthesizing highly efficient EM wave absor-
bents with an ultrathin thickness. They achieved a minimum
reflection loss of 46.48 dB with only 1.02 mm. A series of
multicomponent hierarchical microspheres such as CoNi,
CoNi@SiO2, CoNi@SiO2 @TiO2, and CoNi@Air@TiO2 were suc-
cessfully prepared using a facile continuous solvothermal/
solegel/solvothermal/hydrothermal route. This work pro-
vides new inspiration and insights for novel microwave ab-
sorbents with stronger reflection losses, wider absorption
frequency ranges, and smaller thicknesses. Their unusual
design is that each absorption unit homogeneously has both
magnetic (CoNi) and dielectric loss (TiO2) components. The
CoNi@ SiO2 @TiO2 absorbers have promoted microwave ab-
sorption ability with RL value as low as  58.2 dB at 10.4 GHz
for the thickness of only 2.1 mm. To reduce the thickness of
the microwave absorbing materials, Qinlong et al. [162] pre-
pared Sr1-xTiO3-dxSrAl12O19 ceramics by hotpressing sin-
tering in a vacuum. The absorption bandwidth of 0.95SrTiO3-d-
0.05SrAl12O19 (reflection loss 5 dB) in the range of
8.6e12.4 GHz and its thickness is just 0.232 mm, which is
much thinner than other researchers have recently recorded.
The peak reflection loss value is 58.5 dB with a thickness of
0.75 mm for 0.942SrTiO3-d-0.058SrAl12O19. Their findings sug-
gest that the Sr1-xTiO3-d-xSrAl12O19 films may be ideal candi-
dates for highly efficient and ultra-thin microwave absorption
materials. As shown in Shumin's report, they synthesized
RGO/SrFe12O19 by using Ethylene glycol (EG)-assisted hydro-
thermal synthesis and investigated their MA performance.
More interestingly, the MA performance of the nano-
composite can be easily controlled by changing the thickness
in the range of 1.5e5.5 mm, where the effective absorption
band reaches 16 GHz (from 2 GHz to 18 GHz). At a thickness of
1.5 mm, the maximum RL of RGO/SrFe12O19 nanocomposites
is 48.1 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.9 GHz
(12.9e16.8 GHz) [176]. The broccoli-like SCFs@TiO2 composites
have been successfully synthesized by Hongsheng et al. [177]
In this study, even at the ultra-thin thickness of 1.1 mm, the
effective bandwidth (RL  10 dB) of 3.4 GHz could be ob-
tained. The SCFs@TiO2 composites yield a gross reflection loss
of 58.63 dB at 4.56 GHz. Remarkably, all these results illus-
trate that SCFs@TiO2 composites like broccoli can be used as
an optimal material for the preparation of powerful EM wave
absorption systems. Furthermore, the MoS2 and GN bridges
have been prepared, and their electromagnetic wave absorp-
tion ability has been studied for the first time by Deqing. The
2204 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
hybrids are composed of large GN plates and thin MoS2
nanosheets [34]. The value of the minimum reflection loss (RL)
of the absorber comprising the MoS2/graphene hybrid nano-
sheets (MoS2/GN) of wax and 20 wt% is 55.3 dB at a thickness
of just 1.6 mm. Their findings indicate that these light-weight
MoS2/graphene hybrid nanosheets are very promising elec-
tromagnetic wave absorption materials that can provide a
large effective absorption bandwidth in the absorber that
comprises low loads of MA materials at a small thickness. It
has been reported that magnetic materials can be employed to
enhance the electromagnetic absorption properties of micro-
wave absorbing materials, where they can effectively extend
the absorption bandwidth within a small thickness. In this
regard, their increased permeability not only improves the
possibility of achieving ultra-wideband impedance-matching
to free space but also provides extra magnetic loss compared
to the dielectric materials [178].
8.2. The effect of nanoparticles properties to enhance
microwave absorption
The material-based absorbent works to achieve Maxwell's
absorption-related equations, which state that material with
the same electrical permeability and magnetic permeability
should not have a facet reflection in a normal accident
because of the impedance match with the free space. Also, the
thickness of these materials can be controlled to acquire
sufficient attenuation of the electromagnetic waves to the
required level. Further, if the permeability or permittivity of
the material is high, it gives rise to high electrical or magnetic
loss tangents, which proves to be a good absorbent [27].
Several fabricated nanocomposites, such as iron nano-
particles (Fe NPs) [179,180], magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4
NPs) [181], carbon nanotubes/iron (CNTs/Fe) [182], cobalt
ferrite (CoFe2O4)/CNTs [183], Fe nanoparticles/Carbon fibers/
Epoxy resin (Fe NPs/CFs/ERs) [184], Core/shell-type FeeNi
nanoparticles (a-Fe2.6Ni1.4N NPs) [185] are considered as
excellent microwave absorbers due to high magnetic and
dielectric losses, and are being widely used as absorbent in
different forms because of their unique properties i.e. small
particles size, lightweight, durable, increased surface anisot-
ropies and lower eddy current phenomena.
Some extensive studies by many researchers [14,17,186]
mentioned that, according to the theory of complex permit-
tivity, when the electromagnetic field spreads within a
dielectric material, the electric field causes two kinds of
electrical effects, i.e. conduction and displacement currents.
Since the influence of free electrons (conduction current)
leads to energy loss, which is related to imaginary permittivity
(ε”), the interaction with bound charges (displacement cur-
rent) leads to the influence of polarization, which is described
as true permittivity (ε’) [14]. For this reason, the increase in the
true portion of complex permittivity can be attributed mainly
to dielectric relaxation and the effect of polarisation of the
space charge, while the increase in the imaginary portion of
complex permittivity can be attributed to the improved elec-
trical conductivity of the material.
Green and Chen [24] reported that most materials, which
have nanoscale morphology, specifically look for the tendency
of the dielectric and magnetic interaction of materials as a
function of particle size; since the particle size is restricted,
the electromagnetic reaction tends to increase. Much litera-
ture has reported the fundamental effects of magnetic nano-
materials for microwave absorption, where understanding
this is somewhat intuitive with low particle size for a partic-
ular material, as the particle size parameter appears to be an
important factor when it comes to using these nanomaterials
to prevent electromagnetic interference. Through this, pa-
rameters such as the surface area of the material are
improved, which in turn helps to improve the effects that lead
to a dielectric or magnetic reaction, such as phase insulators,
non-single insulators, eddy current losses, and resonance ef-
fects, which can be enhanced by amplifying effects.
Similar to the idea above, the properties of microwave
absorption of materials depend on permittivity and complex
permeability, and therefore, extensively absorbing materials
can be classified into magnetic nanoparticles and dielectric
nanoparticles depending on whether the permeability or
permittivity is high [17,187]. Based on the results of the re-
searchers' presentation, a class of magnetic materials known
as ferrite has much better absorption capabilities. Likewise, in
dielectric materials as well, there are many advanced nano-
materials and metadata or compounds for both that have
been suggested by many authors to meet application needs.
The progressive development of nanoscience and nano-
technology has greatly contributed to the development of
MAM. More than that, many factors, including morphology,
engineering, and nanostructures, determine the performance
of the microwave absorption (MAP) of materials. The last work
of Adebayo et al. [15] and Rani et al. [27] demonstrated that
nanomaterials have exceptional properties such as large area,
unique shape, potential quantum effect, and surface struc-
ture, which make them effective in absorbing electromagnetic
waves. In several papers, many researchers have extensively
reviewed the fabrication of different absorbing materials and
their shapes based on geometries proposed which ideally offer
properties such as strong absorption, low weight and thick-
ness, a low reflection of microwaves at the air to absorber
interface, frequency tenability, broader bandwidth, ignition at
very high temperatures, and cost-effective. Because of their
intrinsic properties, which are closely related to their scale,
nanomaterials have received great attention from re-
searchers. It has also not been observed in large-scale mate-
rials [188]. The unique characteristics of these nanomaterials
have revolutionized the performance of materials in several
applications, and they have also contributed to the discovery
of new and different fields of scientific research. For instance,
due to the small size of nanomaterials, it is possible to obtain
large surface areas to enable many properties of unexpected
materials.
Nanoscale heterogeneous structures, such as the
coreeshell structures, exhibit attractive absorption properties
of the microwave due to the synergistic effects of their
dielectric shells and soft magnetic cores. Based on that, Hua
et al. [189] designed and synthesized a new type of nano-
capsule with an amorphous C shell encapsulating a Heusler
soft-magnetic Fe3Si alloy, in which Si atoms were doped in the
C shell to effectively produce a large number of SieC bonds to
induce the formation of an amorphous C shell. This greatly
improves the dielectric properties of Fe3Si/C nanoparticles by
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
improving the polarisation of the electrical insulation.
Optimal Fe3Si/C nanoparticles show the highest RL value of
68.3 dB at 13 GHz for a very small absorbable thickness of
1.4 mm and an absorption bandwidth of 4.6 GHz (for RL less
than 10 dB) with 2.1 mm. Due to the desired impedance
match between the amorphous C coating and Fe3Si fine
magnetic, these newly designed Fe3Si/C nanoparticles have
improved microwave absorption properties.
Liu et al. [190] presented the fabrication of nanoporous
metal nanoparticles (NPs) via the preparation of nonporous
cobalt (Co) NPs of 31 nm, which have been made by dealloying
CoeAl NPs, and surprisingly, they possess micropores in a
range from 0.7 to 1.7 nm and a large surface area of 50 m2 g1.
The crystalline size of microporous NPs is 2e5 nm. Through
the passivation process, the small Co NPs covered by CoO (Co
@ CoO) is created as a result of the surface oxidation of Co. It
has better microwave absorption properties than its non-
porous counterparts. An optimal reflection loss (RL) value of
90.2 dB is gained for the microporous Co@CoO NPs with a
thickness of merely 1.3 mm. Previously, Wan [28] reported the
fabrication of CoFe/C coreeshell structured nanocomposites
(CoFe@C) via the thermal decomposition of acetylene with
CoFe2O4 as the precursor, which is a facile and efficient
method, and the microwave absorption properties were
investigated. According to their findings, they concluded that,
by assembling the metallic magnetic particles on the nano-
scale and packing them with a thin dielectric layer to isolate
them from each other, the effect of eddy current can be
effectively prevented and, thus, the performance of micro-
wave absorption can be enhanced. Also, carbon materials
have great properties that make them a superior candidate as
ideal packing materials, which have excellent electrical con-
ductivity and good stability, as a prominent representative of
absorbent insulating materials. Since there is a good mix be-
tween intrinsic magnetic properties and high electrical con-
ductivity, CoFe@C shows not only excellent absorption
density but also wide bandwidth [191]. The synthesized
CoFe@C shows great microwave absorption performance due
Fig. 8 e Reflection loss curves of CoFe@C at different thicknesses, (a) [28], (b) [192].
2205
to its promising properties of strong and wide band micro-
wave absorption. Their results show that the carbon shell in
CoFe@C has weak crystallization with a thickness of about
5e30 nm and its content is roughly 48.5% wt.%. The minimum
value of RL for CoFe@C is 44 dB at a thickness of 4.0 mm, and
the RL values below 10 dB are obtained within the frequency
range of 4.3 mGHz at 2.5 mm thickness. Thus, the current
CoFe@C may be a potential candidate for microwave absorp-
tion application (see Fig. 7).
This is supported by the work of Zeng [192], whereby a new
uniform CoFe@C coreeshell composite nanoparticles through
the combined self-assembly and controlled thermal decom-
position of Co-based Prussian blue (PB) nanocubes were
fabricated. These nanocomposites are comprised of nano-
particles dispersed uniformly with CoFe such as carbon and
graphite as the sheath, resulting in good magnetic properties
and superb microwave absorption performance. This work
achieved great wave absorption properties, including a mini-
mum reflection loss value of 43.5 dB at 9.92 GHz with a
sample thickness of 2.5 mm and an effective absorption
bandwidth of 4.3 GHz (less than 10 dB) for CoFe@C nano-
particles, as can be seen in Fig. 8.
Teber [193] proposed the mixing of magnetic and dielectric
materials to enhance absorption properties at microwave
frequencies that have weak attenuation capabilities by
themselves. The purpose of this work was to enhance the
microwave absorption capabilities of materials with exciting
dielectric behavior by mixing them with magnetic materials
based on transition metals. Their sample was made up of
multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) blended with
manganese and [Mn1-xZnxFe2O4 (x ¼ 0.0 and 1.0)] nano-
particles of zinc spinel (MZF NPs), which were synthesized
with a 3 mm paraffin binding matrix. Their results in terms of
reflection loss (RL) show that the microwave absorption
properties of MWCNTs were improved by mixing with mag-
netic materials. The minimum RL value was converted to
higher frequencies with an increased amount of manganese
ferrite in the mixture. The obtained reflection loss value is
2206 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
Fig. 9 e Shows the relationship between the RL and the
frequency for ZnO-coated Fe nanocapsules in the 2e18 GHz
range [200].
56 dB at 11.41 GHz for the doping concentration x ¼ 0.0 with
an effective bandwidth of 3.38 GHz, where the reflection loss is
less than 20 dB.
In support of the previous discussion, Song [194] concluded
that the coupling of nanostructured materials with graphene
sheets can yield a significant improvement in the electro-
magnetic wave absorption properties. These nanostructured
materials include electrically insulating materials such as
Fe3O4. The nano-composite of hollow Fe3O4eFe nanoparticles
with graphene sheets employed in the research by Qu et al.
[195] as the electromagnetic wave absorbing material has the
following features:
1. The mean diameter and shell thickness of the Fe3O4eFe
hollow nanoparticles are just 20 and 8 nm, respectively.
This small size would induce more dipoles to form around
the inner and outer shells of hollow nanoparticles, thus
enhancing the dipole polarisations.
2. There are many interfaces in the composite, so the polar-
isation between the faces and the relaxation associated
with them facilitate the absorption properties of the elec-
tromagnetic wave compared to a single component.
3. The thermal conductivity of graphene can be high with
uniform dispersion in the nanoparticle cavities for faster
heat deployment than EM radiation.
4. Nanoparticles have a hollow advantage and enable the
composite to be used as a lightweight absorbent material.
The minimal reflection loss RL values of the composite
could reach 30 dB at the absorber thickness of 2.0 mm and
could exceed 58.0 dB at a thickness of about 4.6 mm, with the
absorption bandwidths of about 6.2 GHz and 1.6 GHz
respectively.
Some researchers also focused on the interfacial electronic
interaction between metal and graphene that causes charge
transfer and alters graphene's electronic characteristics,
resulting in certain unique electrical and magnetic features in
the metal-graphene heterostructure. Zhao et al. [172] syn-
thesized graphene-coated Fe nanocomposites (Fe/G) and
studied the properties of microwave absorption. Because of
the interfacial coupling between graphene and Fe, the
dielectric properties of nanocomposites are extremely
enhanced, resulting in excellent microwave absorption per-
formance in a wide frequency range. The values of reflection
loss (RL) measurements were taken by pressing the samples in
a hollow cylindrical waveguide with external and internal
dimensions of 7 mm and 3 mm, respectively. The peak values
of RL for Fe particle samples are very low, not more than
6 dB, but when the same samples are encapsulated with
graphene, for different thicknesses between 1 and 4 mm, the
peak values of RL are all in the vicinity of 30 dB and the
minimum RL is about 45 dB at 7.1 GHz.
The investigation done by Zhang [196] reported the for-
mation of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles and reduced
graphene oxide (rGO), whereby their absorption properties
were characterized by transmission electron microscopy
(TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and axial line method. The
researchers herein fabricated different samples through a
facile hydrothermal approach. The graphene-cadmium sul-
fide (GeCdS) nanocomposite achieved a reflection loss below
10 dB when the thicknesses were adjusted between 2 and
5 mm for a frequency range of 2e18 GHz. Their experimental
results show that the reflection loss for GeCdS/paraffin com-
posite is improved to 48.4 dB at 9.95 GHz for 3.3 mm thick-
ness and the RL values of less than 20 dB are broadened from
9.3 to 10.7 GHz. In addition, a 12.8 GHz efficient absorption
bandwidth is obtained in the frequency range from 5.2 to
18 GHz. In the reported work by Bhattacharya [197], MWCNT-
based nanocomposites were prepared by a two-step process
and were characterized by different techniques to confirm
their formation. The microwave absorption in X-band region
behavior was discussed systematically. In their work, tita-
nium dioxide (TiO2) coated MWCNT was prepared by the
solegel technique. Secondly, the acid-modified MWCNTs
were dispersed in the thermoplastic polyurethane matrix via
the solution blending process. The microwave absorption
studies of the nanocomposites were carried out over a wide
frequency range in the X-band region. Several techniques
were utilized to characterize the nanocomposites, such as X-
ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Scanning
Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Mi-
croscopy (TEM). The result of microwave absorption was dis-
cussed with the help of complex permittivity and permeability
of the prepared radar absorbing material (RAM), which in-
dicates superior microwave absorption properties of the
composite that consists of both TiO2 coated MWCNT and
magnetite (Fe3O4). This is due to the active absorption of the
electrical and magnetic components of the microwave.
8.3. Exhibition in the high-level absorption “reflection
loss” for MAMs
Nanomaterials have captured huge amounts of interest in
research because of their intrinsic properties, which are
related to their size and are not observable in macroscopic
materials. These unique properties of nanomaterials have
revolutionized the performance of materials in various fields
of application [198,199], and have led to the discovery of new
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
areas of research. The ZnO-coated Fe nanocapsules were
synthesized by arc discharging, and their electromagnetic
(EM) characteristics were studied at 2e18 GHz [200]. This work
yields a reflection loss (RL) exceeding 20 dB in the frequency
range of 6.1e15.7 GHz for an absorber thickness of 1.5e5 mm,
while an optimal RL of 57.1 dB at 7.8 GHz is obtained for an
absorber thickness of 3.00 mm, as shown in Fig. 6. The superb
microwave-absorption properties are an outcome of an
appropriate EM match in the nano-microstructure, the strong
natural resonance, in addition to multipolarization mecha-
nisms. Perhaps ZnO-coated Fe nanocapsules are appealing
candidates for EM wave-absorption materials.
Several magnetic nanoparticles, such as Fe3O4 and Co3O4,
play an important role as high-efficiency microwave
absorbing materials [200,201]. Zhang et al. [202] presented the
lightweight hollow Fe3O4@reduced graphite oxide (RGO)
nanocomposites, which were synthesized via the sol-
vothermal method. They cultivated single-crystalline Fe3O4
crystals on RGO flakes, and this led to the formation of het-
erogeneous functionality, which greatly affected the proper-
ties of microwave absorption. After that, microwave
absorption properties were evaluated by standard microwave
characterization in the frequency range of 2e18 GHz. The
studies found that the minimum reflection loss for a specific
Fe3O4@0.125 g RGO composite can reach 41.89 dB at 6.7 GHz,
whilst, for a nanocomposite sample thickness in the range of
1e4 mm, the reflection loss is less than - 10 dB from 3.4 GHz to
13.6 GHz. The combination of these materials can give fabu-
lous microwave absorption properties, because of the
enhanced magnetic losses and favorable impedance match-
ing conditions.
Furthermore, recent research showed that several
graphene-based magnetic nano-composites have been pre-
sented to display good microwave absorbing properties
[188,202]. The rGO/Fe2O3 composite hydrogel exhibits excel-
lent microwave absorbability compared to a pristine reduced
graphene oxide (rGO) hydrogel. The reported rGO/Fe2O3 com-
posite hydrogel, which was prepared by the solution phase
technique, has shown stronger and wider wave absorption
achieved in the frequency range of 1e18 GHz. The investigated
reflection loss of their composite was about 33.5 dB at
7.12 GHz with a thickness of 5 mm [203]. In addition, the work
carried out by Chen et al. [204] improved the facile method to
synthesize G/Fe nanocomposites for electromagnetic absorp-
tion applications. Add to the enhancement of these nano-
composites for EM absorption properties, they are lightweight
owing to high surface areas, interfacial polarization, and
efficient separation of magnetic nanoparticles. This study re-
ported a minimum RL that reaches 31.5 dB at 14.2 GHz with a
thickness of 2.5 mm (see Fig. 9).
Zhu, L., et al. [205] presented a one-pot solvothermal
method to synthesize magnetic Fe3O4/rGO composites, which
exhibit optimal microwave absorbing performances. The
dielectric properties of Fe3O4/rGO composites were tuned by
various rGO additions to organize their absorbing perfor-
mances. The paper also investigated the interconnected
relationship between the magnetic, microstructure, and mi-
crowave absorbing performances of these Fe3O4/rGO com-
posites in a systematic manner. According to their results, ut
has been achieved a good impedance matching from the
2207
balanced dielectric and magnetic loss in the Fe3O4/rGO com-
posites with an addition of 4 wt% of rGO, which dominates
their premium microwave absorbing performances, inclusive
of the minimum reflection loss (RL) value of 45 dB at a fre-
quency of 8.96 GHz with a sample thickness of 3.5 mm, as
shown in Fig. 10.
The development of a strategy for coupling hollow Fe3O4-
eFe nanoparticles with graphene sheets for the high-
performance electromagnetic wave absorbing material was
studied by Qu, B., et al. [195]. The electromagnetic absorption
property of Fe3O4eFe nanoparticle/graphene (Fe3O4eFe/G) is
exceptional. The minimum value of the reflection loss (RL) is
58 dB at 5.2 GHz, which increases to - 30 dB in the absorption
thickness range of 2.0e5.0 mm. According to their results in
Fig. 11, the absorption properties of the electromagnetic wave
of the Fe3O4eFe/G hollow compound were much better than
those of the solid Fe3O4eFe/G compound and most of the
recently reported magnetic wave absorbers. Further, the
amount of hollow Fe3O4eFe/G composite added to the paraffin
matrix was only 18% by weight. Subsequently, the Fe3O4eFe/G
hollow compound can be used as a lightweight EM wave
absorber with a robust absorption property for practical
applications.
Yang et al. [206] reported that the nanostructured zinc
oxide/zinc/carbon fiber (ZnO/Zn/CF) composites show exhi-
bition lightweight, wide-frequency, and strong microwave
absorption properties. The synthesized the (ZnO/Zn/CF)
composites by annealing the zinc-covered carbon fibers with
an electroplating route. The results of their work show that
the diameter of the NSZnO/Zn/CF composites is about 25 mm.
The strongest reflectivity loss (RL) of NSZnO/Zn/CF compos-
ites is 39.42 dB at 3.23 GHz for a layer with a thickness of
4.5 mm. Fig. 12 includes the three-dimensional presentations
and curves of RL for the theoretical RL of the NSZnO/Zn/CF
composites with different thicknesses (1e4.5 mm) in the
range of 1.0e18.0 GHz.
9. Electromagnetic wave absorption
characteristics of single and double layer
Microwave absorbers are present in either a single-layer
structure or a multi-layer structure [124,208,226]. In a single-
Fig. 10 e Three-dimensional reflection loss (RL) of Fe3O4/
rGO composites with 4 wt% [205].
2208 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0

Fig. 11 e Illustrates reflection loss values of the hollow Fe3O4eFe/G composite at d ¼ 2.0e5.0 mm, (b) comparison of the
calculated matching thickness under n ¼ 1 to the values obtained from RL values shown in a), and (c) the normalized input
impendence (|Zin/Z0|) for the solid Fe3O4eFe/G nanocomposites [195].

layer structure, the impedance and attenuation matching added to ferrite to form the compound material to improve the
functions are performed by only a single material [227,228]. absorption properties of the material. In these composite
For instance, ferrite is generally used, but ferrite is not suffi- materials, attenuation is controlled by one material and
cient to perform these two operations. Another material is impedance matching is controlled by the other material.

Fig. 12 e Reflection loss of the NSZnO/Zn/CF composites with different thicknesses (1.0e4.5 mm) in the range of
1.0e18.0 GHz [206].
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
There is a thickness problem associated with single-layer
structures, and sometimes materials cannot be manufac-
tured with another material to compensate for other losses.
So, in this case, multi-layer materials are used [208,229].
Multilayer materials have been proven to be very effective at
covering losses. Table 3 shows a comparison of different mi-
crowave absorption units based on dielectric losses and
impedance matching.
Min, D et al. [230] achieved impressive results with a new
single- and double-layer microwave absorber design with a
wide absorption range by combining different absorbers and
graphene content. This work prepared nano Graphene/Epoxy
Resin (GN/EP) sheets using GN as an absorbent. The effect of
GNs content on the electromagnetic and microwave absorbing
properties of single and double-layer GN/EP composites was
investigated to enhance the absorption efficiency and in-
crease the bandwidths for the GN/EP composites in the
2e8 GHz range. For double-layer carbon black/epoxy resin (CB)
and Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4/epoxy resin (F) nanocomposites in the
8e18 GHz frequency range, microwave absorption properties
have been extensively tested. The Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 nano-
particles were fabricated with subsequent sintering through
high-energy ball milling [231]. The materials were integrated
into epoxy resin to render double-layer composite structures
with total thicknesses of 2 and 3 mm. The highest microwave
absorption of more than 99.9% was obtained for carbon black
as the matching layer and ferrite as the absorbing layer with
each thickness of 1 mm, with a minimum reflection loss of
33.8 dB but with an absorption bandwidth of only 2.7 GHz.
The Ferrite/Carbon (F/CB) double-layer absorbers demon-
strated the highest microwave absorption efficiency of more
than 99 percent, with a promising minimum reflection loss of
24.0 dB, a broader 4.8 GHz bandwidth, and a reduced thick-
ness of 2 mm. It is important to note that the microwave ab-
sorption efficiency is also different as the thickness of the
matching and absorbing layer increases, but the overall
thickness of the double-layer composites remains the same,
thus signifying the functions of the matching and absorbing
layers.
Microwave absorbers of cobalt ferrite and graphite com-
pounds were prepared by Ismail et al. [232] to investigate the
expansion of the absorption frequency by mixing small and
large particles. In addition, the article reports the synthesized
single and double-layer compounds in a range of different
thicknesses for comparison purposes to expand the absorp-
tion frequency and improve multiple reflections and the
scattering of electromagnetic waves. For the double layer
compound, it was prepared with different particle sizes of
CoFe2O4 as one layer and graphene as another layer. The in-
fluence of these layers has also been studied as a matching
layer and an absorption layer. The results of this study have
shown that, although the different particle sizes of the pow-
ders, the single-layer nanocomposites have not been able to
absorb the electromagnetic waves as expected. In contrast,
double-layer nanocomposites show good return loss and
variation in response resulting from playing around with the
matching layer and absorption layer of samples. It is also
possible to manipulate the properties of microwave absorp-
tion and the absorbed bandwidth of nanocomposites by
2209
adding the composite layer and sample thickness. Previously,
Wang et al. [233] presented the work on analyzing the calcu-
lated microwave absorption for single and double layers ab-
sorption based on Co67Ni33 microspheres and Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4
nanocrystals, which were synthesized by a hydrothermal
method. Their findings concluded that the relatively low
permittivity Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 nanocrystals can be used as a
suitable matching layer, and the Co67Ni33 microbes with
relatively high dielectric loss and magnetic loss are suitable as
an excellent absorption layer, in the frequency range of
2e18 GHz. One of the optimum properties of a double-layer
absorber with a coating thickness of 2.1 mm is that it has a
maximum reflection loss of 43.8 dB, plus a bandwidth
(reflection loss less than  10 dB) of 5 GHz. Also, the peak
absorption and absorption intensity were easily adjusted by
changing the stacking order and thickness of each layer.
According to Fischer et al. [208], when the microwave is
incident on a multilayer microwave absorbing material, the
reflection loss (RL), is calculated based on the following
equations [234]:
 
 Zin  Z0 
RL ðdBÞ ¼ 20 log 10   (9)
Zin þ Z0 
h  . pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Zin1 þ h2 tanh j 2pfd2 c m2 =ε2 
Zin ¼ h2 h . pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi (10)
h2 þ Zin1 tanh j2pfd2 c m2 =ε2 
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi h  . pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi i
Zinn ¼ z0 mn =εn thanh j 2pGdn c εn =mn (11)
Where;
rffiffiffiffiffi
mn
hn ¼ ; n ¼ 1; 2::: (12)
εn
Where Zin is the input impedance of the double layer, Zin1 is
the first layer impedance related to free space, and Zinn repre-
sents the distinct impedance of each layer. mn , εn , dn are the
complex relative permeability, the complex relative permittivity,
and the thickness of each layer, respectively. C and f are the
speed of light and the frequency of an electromagnetic wave,
respectively. If d1 ¼ 0, the above formulas can be transferred as
microwave absorption for single-layer absorption [235].
Based on the electromagnetic transmission line theory and
the principle of matching impedance in the frequency range
from 2 GHz to 18 GHz, Liu et al. [236] studied the properties of
microwave absorption of carbonyl iron (CI) and CoFe2O4 ferrite
with single-layer and double-layer absorbed composite. The
reflectance curves of the double-layer microwave absorber
with varying thicknesses show that the minimum reflection
loss peak rises with the thickness of the matching layer when
CoFe2O4 is less than 2.4 mm thick. Excellent absorbing prop-
erties are gained when the thickness of CoFe2O4 as the
matching layer is 2.4 mm and the thickness of CI as the
absorbing layer is 0.5 mm, with a minimum reflectance of
38.2 dB and less than 10 dB over the range of
8.6 GHze18 GHz (the bandwidth in the range of 9.4 GHz),
which roughly covers the X band (8.2e12.4 GHz). When the
thickness of CoFe2O4 is 2.4 mm and the thickness of CI is
0.5 mm, the whole Ku-band (12.4e18 GHz) is achieved. In
 2210
Table 3 e Comparison of absorbing performances between some single and double-layer absorbers reported recently.
Absorber Types of Materials Preparation Thicknesses RL f (GHz) Frequency Effective Ref.
structure method (mm) (dB) (Optimal RL) range bandwidth
(GHz) (GHz)
(RL  10 dB)
CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4/PANI multi- Single layer CoFe2O4/PANI Chemical oxidative 2 19.0 16.2 4.2 13.8e18.0 [240]
core/shell composites polymerization of
aniline
Single layer CoFe2O4 Co-precipitation 2.5 23.6 13.1 4.2 13.8e18.0

j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
method
Double layer Absorbing layer CoFe2O4 e 2.5 31.1 12.8 5.5 10.3e15.8
Matching layer CoFe2O4/PANI
M-type BaFe12O19 and W-type Single layer M-type BaFe12O19 Solegel method 2 2.0 12.2 e e [241]
BaCo2Fe16O27 hexaferrite & M- Single layer MC- M-type ferrite 2 11.0 13.3 1.4 12.7e14.1
type ferrite composite filled with composite filled with
short carbon fiber (MC) short carbon fiber
Single layer W-type BaCo2Fe16O27 2 10.9 16.5 4.1 e
Double layer Absorbing layer W-type BaCo2Fe16O27 1 22.0 12.7 3.2 12.4e15.6
Matching layer MC- M-type ferrite 1
composite filled with
short carbon fiber
Polyaniline (PANI) and polyaniline/ Single layer PANI In situ 1 32.0 35.75 10.9 27.78e32.24 [242]
magnetite (PANI/Fe3O4) Single layer PFC (PANI/Fe3O4) polymerization 1 37.4 28.52 11.53 27.78e32.24
composite Double layer Absorbing layer PANI/Fe3O4 0.4 54.0 33.72 11.28 27.24e38.52
Matching layer PANI 0.6
BaCo0.4Zn1.6Fe16O27 ferrite and Single layer BaCo0.4Zn1.6Fe16O27 and Solegel method 2.7 46.0 5.4 1 e [243]
carbonyl iron powder carbonyl iron powder
(BFeCI)
Double layer Absorbing layer BaCo0.4Zn1.6Fe16O27 and 1.4 55.4 7.9 5.2 8.2e12.4
carbonyl iron powder
(BFeCI)
Matching layer BaCo0.4Zn1.6Fe16O27 ferrite 0.9
Spindle magnetite nanoparticles Single layer SMNPs Hydrothermal 1.8 18.8 15.9 6.5 11.4e18.0 [222]
(SMNPs) and flower-like copper Single layer FCSMSs method 1.8 22.7 12.5 2.1 11.7e13.8
sulfide microspheres (FCSMSs) Double layer Absorbing layer SMNPs 1.6 74.3 10.9 5.34 8.46e13.8
Matching layer FCSMSs 0.4
Matching layer CNZF 1.7
Fe3O4 nanoparticle and a Single layer Fe3O4 Hydrothermal 5.0 24.8 16.6 3.6 e [244]
hierarchical MXene/Fe3O4 Single layer MXene/Fe3O4 method 1.5 45.8 7.5 3.7 e
composite Double layer Absorbing layer MXene/Fe3O4 0.9 48.7 9.9 3.9 8.9e10.9
Matching layer Fe3O4 1.1
Glass fiber epoxy composites Single layer GF/MWCNTs3/epoxy Composites liquid 2.5 28.7 9.5 3.2 8.5e12 [245]
containing MWCNTs and Fe3O4 composites molding process
NPs Single layer GF/40 wt% Fe3O4 1.6 43.5 11.0 3.7 8.5e12
NPs/epoxy composites
Double layer Absorbing layer Fe3O4 40 1.6 45.7 11.5 4.2 8.5e12
Matching layer MWCNTs 0.5 0.2
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0 2211

addition, their study also concluded that the double-layer

[149]

[132]

[246]
absorbers have numerous excellent microwave absorption
properties compared to single-layer absorbers. The micro-
wave absorption properties of the double-layer structure are
2.0e18.0
2.0e18.0
5.0e18.0

2e18
2e18
2e18

2e18
2e18
10.4e18
affected by the coupling reactions between the absorbed and
matching layers.
To improve the absorbing properties of electromagnetic wave
absorbing materials, Meng et al. [237] designed double-layer
materials. Double-layer material consists of two layers, which
8.2

5.2
7.6
0.8
12.4

3.8
1.9
3.9

6.4

are the matching layer and the absorption layer. They defined
the matching layer as the surface layer through which most of
the falling waves can enter, and the absorption layer beneath it
plays an important role in attenuating the transverse wave. The
total thicknesses of the double layer are also determined by the
6.0
6.2
10.9

6.6

9.2

16.1
16.1

17.5
11.3

sum of the thickness of these two layers. They used carbonyl

iron (CI) as absorbents in the matching layer and carbon black
(CB) as absorption layers. The work presented that the double-
77.5
11.5
115.9

17.4
16.9

22.2
14.6
85.5
67

layer absorbers have two absorption peaks in the testing fre-

quency range of 2e18 GHz, and the positions of the peaks and
values of these peaks change with the content level of the ab-
sorbents. At 50% mass fraction of CI in the matching layer, the
1.15
0.98

0.85
5.0
2.0

3.0

5.0
5.0
1.7
1.5
1.3
3.0

total thickness of the absorbent is 4 mm, and the effective ab-

sorption (less than  8 dB) was 5.5, 5.8, and 6.5 GHz. While using a
CB mass of 50% or 60% and a CI mass of 70%, the bandwidth with
autoignition method
treatment processes
subsequent thermal

process & a solegel

reflection loss less than 4 dB is greater than 10 GHz.

A hydrothermal
Electrospinning

Although the ferrite shows excellent properties as a mi-

transformation
technique and

Organic gel-

crowave absorber in the MHz band [238], however, the ferrite

precursor

does not give sufficient absorption in the high-frequency

range of GHz due to Sneok's law. Therefore, Saitoh [140]
made a microwave absorber that combined magnetic prop-
erties and dielectric properties, where they used carbon
70 wt% Ni0.4Co0.2-Zn0.4Fe2O4
M2xNi0.5xZn0.5xFe2O4 NFs

Co0.2Ni0.4Zn0.4Fe2O4 (CNZF)

Double layer Absorbing layer Co0.2Ni0.4Zn0.4Fe2O4 (CNZF)

powder (Fe (CO) called “Fe” for short powder) as a magnetic

material and titanium oxide (TiO2 called “Ti” for short pow-
der) as a dielectric material. Then, they examined the prop-
erties of single-layer microwave absorption experimentally at
5 wt% CNFs

the frequency range of 7.7 GHze9.4 GHz. Their result shows

Co2Y MFs

Matching layer Co2Y MFs

that the maximum reflection loss for each sample is above

40 dB or more (99.99% of the incident wave is absorbed),
CNFs

Double layer Absorbing layer CNFs

CNFs

NiO

Matching layer NiO

NFs

depending on the change in the mixing ratio of the magnetic

and dielectric materials in the compound.
Double layer Absorbing layer
Matching layer
Single layer
Single layer

Single layer
Single layer

Single layer
Single layer
Ba2Co2Fe12O22 microfibers (Co2Y
and Co0.2Ni0.4Zn0.4Fe2O4 (CNZF)

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and

Spherical NiO particles
M2xNi0.5xZn0.5xFe2O4

nanofibers (CNFs)
NFs and carbon

ferrites

hollow

Fig. 13 e Schematic diagram of the double-layer absorber

MFs)

consisting of a matching layer (SMNPs) and absorption

layer (FCSMSs) [239].
2212 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
Fig. 14 e RL of the double-layer absorbers consisting of (a) matching layer (SMNPs) and absorption layer (FCSMSs)with a total
thickness of 2.0 mm, (b) matching layer (FCSMSs) and absorption layer (SMNPs) over 2e18 GHz with various thickness [239].
Liu et al. [222] reported excellent double-layer absorbers
containing a suitable matching layer (FCSMSs) and an ab-
sorption layer (SMNPs) with special structures and compared
them to previous double-absorbers that were designed by
building some traditional particles as shown in Fig. (13).
Their results show that double-layer absorbers consisting of
FCSMSs and SMNPs display excellent microwave absorption
performance compared to a single layer due to the appro-
priate mixture of magnetic loss of SMNPs and dielectric loss
of FCSMSs. Herein, the addition of MWCNTs increases
dielectric loss and improves the composite's impedance
matching. Their results indicate that the minimum RL peaks
are shifted to a lower frequency region as the absorbing layer
thickness increases from 0.3 to 1.9 mm. Fig. 14 shows that
the minimum reflection loss is 74.3 dB at 10.9 GHz, and the
effective absorption bandwidth reaches 5.34 GHz
(8.46e13.8 GHz) when the absorption layer and the matching
layer thickness are 1.6 and 0.4 mm, respectively. Thus, the
ideal double-layer SMNPs/FCSMSs absorbers can become a
new material for microwave absorption with strong absorp-
tion and broadband. The minimum RL reaches 42.6 dB at
12.1 GHz with the EAB of 2.8 GHz (10.8e13.6 GHz) when the
absorption layer thickness is 1.7 mm and the matching layer
thickness is 0.3 mm.
Double-layer absorbers have recently been extensively
studied because single-layer absorbers can hardly meet the
requirements of advanced absorbing materials. To make this
part of the review easier to follow, Table 3 summarizes the
comparison result for the absorbing performances of the
various composite materials present in a single-layer struc-
ture and a double-layer structure, that are discussed in this
review paper. The results from most of the previous reports
presented in Table 3 show that the reflection loss and ab-
sorption bandwidth of the double-layer absorbers are
enhanced compared to corresponding single-layer absorbers.
Compared to many single and double-layer absorbers re-
ported recently, the proposed double-layer absorbers have a
stronger absorbing ability, wider absorption bandwidth, and
lower filler loading or sample thickness. According to the
findings of several studies, including the studies of Peijiang L.
et al. and IR Ibrahim, the double-layer absorbers have greater
absorbing performance across a wide frequency range
because excellent impedance matching characteristics and
interior attenuation can be easily realized by rationally
assembling the absorption layer and the matching layer
[231,244]. It can be seen that, compared to single-layer ones,
the ratio between the input impedance of the absorber (Zin)
and the impedance of air (Z0) (Zin/Z0) values of double-layer
absorbers is much closer to 1 over a wider frequency range,
suggesting that the incident EM waves are easier to enter into
the double-layer absorbers in the corresponding frequency
bands. This is the primary reason for the excellent microwave
absorption efficiency of the double-layer absorbers.
10. Conclusions
To date, electromagnetic absorbing materials-based nano-
composites have been extensively studied over the years for
their various applications. The basic concepts of the EMI
shield are described. Attractive features of nanostructures
such as high absorption, lightweight manageability, small
match thickness, broadband bandwidth, etc. have demon-
strated their potential in future EMI protection applications.
Furthermore, the current study contains a description of the
reflection loss mechanism, which is caused by both dielectric
and magnetic losses. To get effective EM wave absorption
materials, there must be efficient integration between
dielectric and magnetic losses to meet the impedance
matching condition as well as the materials' high absorption
properties. Recently, nanocomposites have played an impor-
tant role as new microwave absorbers in many recent types of
research. All their results show that these materials provide
strong absorption properties, low density and thin thickness,
and a wide frequency range. The basic principle is that by
combining different components in the nanoscope, new ma-
terials may be produced that combine the advantages of each
component of nanomaterials. It can also be observed that,
typically, a wide range of nanomaterials respond to incoming
electromagnetic radiation in a variety of different ways. From
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 2 ; 2 0 : 2 1 8 8 e2 2 2 0
the perspective of maximizing reflection loss, varying the
nanomaterial identity, crystal structure, particle, and material
doping identities and scales, and composite ratio can all have
an aggregate effect on a nanomaterial's propensity to interact
with incident electromagnetic radiation in a way that is
deemed desirable from the perspective of maximizing reflec-
tion loss. Magnetic nanomaterials have permeability values
and intrinsic permittivity, indicating strong reflection loss.
Many of the nanomaterials studied and discussed in the
literature have made a point of an effort to highlight their
maximum RL values as the most important characteristic.
According to most previous studies, although different parti-
cle sizes of powders, single-layer nanocomposites for elec-
tromagnetic wave absorption do not produce ideal results as
expected. On the other hand, a double-layer microwave
absorber provides a wide absorption range and optimum mi-
crowave absorption. It is expected that this review will benefit
the ongoing research about nanostructures in the field of
microwave absorbing materials.
Author contributions
Conceptualization, M.F.E., R.S.A., I.I and F.D.M.; validation,
R.S.A., I.I, F.D.M.; investigation, M.F.E., R.S.A.; writingdorigi-
nal draft preparation, M.F.E., and R.S.A.; review and editing,
R.S.A., F.D.M.; supervision, R.S.A., I.I, F.D.M.; project adminis-
tration, R.S.A.; funding acquisition, R.S.A. All authors have
read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by the Universiti Putra Malaysia,
GP-IPS/2021/9707200.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the Department of Physics, Faculty
of Science, and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotech-
nology (ION2), Universiti Putra Malaysia, for providing the
measurement facilities. The highest appreciation is given to
the Universiti Putra Malaysia, GP-IPS/2021/9707200 for the
fund this research work.
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