Fe₃O₄/wood fiber composites are prepared with a green mechanical method using only distilled water as a solvent without any chemical agents, and then a binderless composite board with high mechanical properties is obtained via a hot-press for electromagnetic (EM) absorption. The fibers are connected by hydrogen bonds after being mechanically pretreated, and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) are attached to the fiber surface through physical adsorption. The composite board is bonded by an adhesive, which is provided by the reaction of fiber composition under high temperature and pressure. The Nano-Fe₃O₄/Fiber (NFF) binderless composite board shows remarkable microwave absorption properties and high mechanical strength. The optional reflection loss (RL) of the as-prepared binderless composite board is -31.90 dB. The bending strength of the NFF binderless composite board is 36.36 MPa with the addition of 6% nano-Fe₃O₄, the modulus of elasticity (MOE) is 6842.16 MPa, and the internal bond (IB) strength is 0.81 MPa. These results demonstrate that magnetic nanoparticles are deposited in binderless composite board by hot pressing, which is the easiest way to produce high mechanical strength and EM absorbers.
Keywords: Fe3O4 nanoparticles; electromagnetic absorption properties; mechanical properties; wood fiber composites.