Aligned Fe microfiber reinforced epoxy composites with tunable electromagnetic properties and improved microwave absorption

Aligned Fe microfiber/epoxy composites (FMF/EP) were prepared by shear force. The effects of the alignment on the morphology, electromagnetic properties and microwave absorption performances were studied. The results showed that the FMF inclines to be aligned uniformly after alignment treatment. The aligned FMF/EP composite exhibits higher complex permeability and lower complex permittivity in the measured frequency range (2–18 GHz), which is beneficial to impedance matching and enhancing absorption performance. Lower reflection loss (RL) intensity and wider absorption bandwidth were obtained after FMF orientation, and an absorption width is 13.3 GHz from 4.7 to 18 GHz with RL below − 5 dB at thickness 1.6 mm, which indicated that the orientation plays a significant role in improving absorption performance. This work provides an effective approach for the preparation of microwave-absorbing materials with good absorption properties.