Sol-gel synthesis has been investigated in order to produce stoichiometric compositions of Ba3Co2Fe24O41 (Co2Z) at lower calcination temperatures, using citric acid as quelant complex. Using this method, Co2Z ferrite could be synthesized at 950 °C, about 400 °C lower than that of conventional method. Nanocomposites (80:20% weight) of this ferrite with polychloroprene (CR) were obtained for the microwave absorption measurements by mixing, molding and curing mixtures of Ba3Co2Fe24O41 powders with polychloroprene and the additives of vulcanization. The microwave absorption measurements was carried out using the Transmission/Reflection method for the S and X-Ku bands and showed the best performance as Radar Absorber Material (RAM) in 8.0-16.0 GHz range. Thus, the material can be used by reducing the radar signature of the Brazilian Frigates' superstructures.

The magnetic behavior and its relationship with microwave absorbing properties have been investigated for doped Z-type barium hexaferrites (Ba3Co1.3Zn0.3Cu0.4Fe 24O41)/ polychloroprene (CR) nanocomposites. Simultaneous substitutions by Co2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ ions make possible the use of these materials as RAMs, due to the frequency dependence of µr* (permeability), responsible for the location of the hexaferrite natural resonance. The Cu2+ ions distort the crystalline field due to their electronic configuration, and this behavior results in an increase in the saturation magnetization (Ms), which improve the magnetic permeability. Similarly, the superparamagnetic contribution (associated to the nanometric size) led to the improvement of the microwave absorption.

Nanostructured magnetic materials have great interest because of their applications in high-density magnetic information storage and for magnetic sensors. The electrodeposition of materials into porous alumina arrays is a suitable technique to produce nanomaterials, since highly ordered uniform nanomaterials can be obtained simply and cheaply. In this work, template-assisted Co nanowire arrays were prepared by electrodeposition into nanometer-sized pores of an alumite film using a two-electrode electrochemical cell. The Co nanowires were electrodeposited from a solution of 400 g/L of CoSO4.7H2O and 40 g/L of H3BO3. The morphology of the samples was investigated by means of TEM and AFM. The structural characteristic of the samples was examined using XRD, EDX and FTIR, which confirm the cobalt nanowire formation.