Effect of Filler Concentration and Time Sonication of ZnO Composite for Radar Absorbing Material Applications

Abstract

Effects of filler concentration and sonication time on the structure, morphology, reflection loss and absorption percentage of ZnO composite was investigated. The structure, morphology, reflection loss and absorption percentage of the composite was investigated using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The ZnO composite was made by solution mixing method with the epoxy resin as a filler varied of 10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt%. The hardener was mixed to the ZnO composite by the composition of 2: 1. The sonication time was varied of 30, 45 and 60 minutes. The XRD showed that the crystal structure of ZnO composite was confirmed as a hexagonal structure and the structure was not change for all composite. The VNA results showed that the optimum reflection loss value was-9.37042 dB at the frequency of 12.3 GHz for the filler composition of 20 wt% and sonification time of 45 minutes. On the other hand, the minimum reflection loss value was-6.86845 dB at the frequency of 12.3 GHz for the filler composition of 10 wt% and sonification time of 45 minutes. In addition, the optimum absorption percentage was 18 % at a filler composition of 10 wt% with 60 minutes sonication time. This study demonstrates a promising method to improve a microwave absorption of ZnO composites.