Development of cobalt oxide and titanium carbide based composite for microwave absorption in X-band

By incorporating cobalt oxide (Co3O4) and titanium carbide (TiC), the electromagnetic wave-absorbing material is developed with the aid of the mechanical milling technique. Co3O4 nanomaterial is synthesized via auto-combustion, while Co3O4-TiC composites are created using planetary ball mill. The materials are analyzed using characterization techniques like XRD, SEM, and VSM for their structural, morphological, and magnetic properties, respectively. The minimal reflection loss (RLmin) of – 25.6 dB is observed at 10.5 GHz for Co3O4-TiC (20 %-80 %) composite. This RLmin is obtained with a sample thickness of 1.3 mm. The adequate bandwidth for less than −10 dB loss is observed to be 2.5 GHz (63 % of X band). The maximum attenuation constant of 175 Np/m is obtained within the 8–12 GHz frequency range. The synergic effects of magnetism and dielectricity in Co3O4-TiC composites improve impedance matching. The present material holds significant potential as an effective electromagnetic wave absorber for diverse modern technologies.