Magnetic neodymium ferrite decorated reduced graphene oxide and TiO₂ nanostructures as a promising candidate for high-performance X-band radar absorbing applications

In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-modified neodymium ferrite and TiO 2 in a polypyrrole (PPy) matrix (rGO/Nd 0.25 Fer/TiO₂/PPy) has been successfully synthesized and proved to be a promising radar-absorbing material (RAM) in the X-band region. The modified Hummer method was used to synthesize rGO originating from the carbonized coconut shell, whereas the rGO/Nd 0.25 Fer/TiO₂ was fabricated using the one-pot hydrothermal method. The composite rGO/Nd 0.25 Fer/TiO₂/PPy was prepared by simple polymerization using an FeCl 3 initiator. The successful rGO/Nd 0.25 Fer/TiO₂/PPy synthesis is indicated by the appearance of Ti–O (331 cm⁻¹), Nd–O (478 cm⁻¹), and Fe–O (578 cm⁻¹) peak by FTIR. The XRD pattern shows Nd peaks (2θ=30.28°; 35.66°, 43.33°, and 57.33°), TiO₂ peaks (2θ= 25.33°, 39.47°, 49.48°, and 53.91⁰) and PPy broad peak band at 2θ= 20–30°. The SEM-EDS analysis revealed that the homogeneous surface contained C, O, Ti, Fe, and Nd. Thermogravimetric analysis showed good thermal stability up to the final decomposition limit of 664.82 °C. The XPS results show the characteristic binding of Nd 3d 5/2 , Nd 3d 3/2 , Fe 2p 3/2 , Fe 2p 1/2 , O 1 s, C 1 s, Ti 2p 3/2 , Ti 2p 1/2 , and N 1 s. The VSM characterization showed that the addition of rGO, TiO₂, and PPy increased Ms from 8.21 to 33.00 emu/g with a decrease in Hc to 10 Oe. Performance analysis by VNA showed a remarkable reflection loss (RL) value of −36.81 dB at a thickness of 3 mm measured in the X-band region. The composite exhibited 99.98% microwave absorption at a frequency of 11.98 GHz. Based on the results and economic analysis, the synthesized composite is a promising candidate for the use of RAM in nanosatellites.