Particle size and density control in magnetic polymer nanocomposites

Abstract

AbstractMagnetic nanocomposites formed by metal oxide nanoparticles and organic polymers can be produced from a polymer-metal ion complex material by a soft thermal treatment. With only slight variations in the preparation procedure it is possible to obtain: 1) different iron oxide phases, e.g., hematite (antiferromagnetic), goethite and akaganeite (both canted antiferromagnets), and maghemite (ferrimagnetic); 2) nanocomposites with a different particle size, in a range from 2 nm to 20 nm; and 3) different particle density. In this contribution the preparation and properties of maghemite nanoparticles in polyvinyl pyridine composites are reported.