Facile one-pot synthesis of polypyrrole-coated magnetic montmorillonite for enhanced microwave absorption and sunlight-induced heat generation

This study presents a facile one-pot synthesis of polypyrrole-coated magnetic montmorillonite (MMT/Fe 3 O 4 /PPy) by incorporating Fe 3 O 4 onto the surface of layered MMT and further enhancing its microwave absorption properties by integrating the conductive polymer PPy. The MMT/Fe 3 O 4 /PPy composite had a highly porous nanostructured morphology, leading to improved anisotropy, magnetic loss, and dielectric loss. Remarkably, at a thickness of 3.5 mm, RL min reached −41.35 dB at 11.52 GHz accompanied by an EAB of 8.92 GHz (6.47–15.39 GHz). Under simulated sunlight irradiation, the MMT/Fe 3 O 4 /PPy composite exhibited rapid temperature increases with a temperature rise of 26 °C in 60 s