In this work, nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticles
were synthesized by dextrin from corn-mediated sol–gel combustion
method and were annealed at 600, 800, and 1000 °C. The structural
and physical characteristics of prepared nanoparticles were studied
in detail. The average crystallite size was 20.6, 34.5, and 68.6 nm
for NiFe2O4 nanoparticles annealed at 600 °C
(NFD@600), 800 °C (NFD@800), and 1000 °C (NFD@1000), respectively.
The electromagnetic interference shielding performance of prepared
nanocomposites of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles (NFD@600
or NFD@800 or NFD@1000) in polypropylene (PP) matrix engineered with
reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been investigated; the results indicated
that the prepared nanocomposites consisted of smaller-sized nickel
ferrite nanoparticles exhibited excellent electromagnetic interference
(EMI) shielding characteristics. The total EMI shielding effectiveness
(SET) for the prepared nanocomposites have been noticed
to be 45.56, 36.43, and 35.71 dB for NFD@600-rGO-PP, NFD@800-rGO-PP,
and NFD@1000-rGO-PP nanocomposites, respectively, at the thickness
of 2 mm in microwave X-band range (8.2–12.4 GHz). The evaluated
values of specific EMI shielding effectiveness (SSE) were 38.81, 32.79,
and 31.73 dB·cm3/g, and the absolute EMI shielding
effectiveness (SSE/t) values were 388.1, 327.9, and 317.3 dB·cm2/g for NFD@600-rGO-PP, NFD@800-rGO-PP, and NFD@1000-rGO-PP,
respectively. The prepared lightweight and flexible sheets can be
considered useful nanocomposites against electromagnetic radiation
pollution.