Hierarchical Fe3O4@TiO2 yolk-shell microspheres with enhanced microwave-absorption properties.

A facile and efficient strategy for the synthesis of hierarchical yolk-shell microspheres with magnetic Fe3O4 cores and dielectric TiO2 shells has been developed. Various Fe3O4@TiO2 yolk-shell microspheres with different core sizes, interstitial void volumes, and shell thicknesses have been successfully synthesized by controlling the synthetic parameters. Moreover, the microwave absorption properties of these yolk-shell microspheres, such as the complex permittivity and permeability, were investigated. The electromagnetic data demonstrate that the as-synthesized Fe3O4@TiO2 yolk-shell microspheres exhibit significantly enhanced microwave absorption properties compared with pure Fe3O4 and our previously reported Fe3O4@TiO2 core-shell microspheres, which may result from the unique yolk-shell structure with a large surface area and high porosity, as well as synergistic effects between the functional Fe3O4 cores and TiO2 shells.