Electron spin resonance on carbon nanotubes–polymer composites

Electron spin resonance investigations on styrene–polyisoprene–polystyrene block copolymer loaded with various amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes are reported. The temperature dependence of resonance line parameters in the range 290–425 K was analyzed. It was proved that the main resonance line represents a bottleneck of localized and delocalized electrons residing on carbon nanotubes. The temperature dependence of the g-factor and double integral of resonance spectra confirmed this interpretation. The temperature dependence of the resonance linewidth of composites containing various concentrations of nanotubes was explained by the thermally activated narrowing of the resonance spectra. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3406–3412, 2005     

Surface modification of iron oxide nanoparticles by a phosphate‐based macromonomer and further encapsulation into submicrometer polystyrene particles by miniemulsion polymerization

A new strategy relying on the use of a phosphate‐based macromonomer (PAM200) to modify the surface of iron oxide nanoparticles was developed for the synthesis of submicrometer polystyrene (PS) magnetic particles. First, iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using the coprecipitation of ferrous and ferric salts in alkaline medium. Besides the classical oleic acid (OA)/octane‐based ferrofluid, styrene‐based ferrofluids were elaborated with either OA or PAM200 as the stabilizer. In all cases, maghemite (γ‐Fe₂O₃) was clearly identified, with nanoparticles rather spherical in shape but exhibiting broad particle size distribution (PSD). Both OA and PAM200 led to stable maghemite‐based ferrofluids showing superparamagnetic properties. Further use of these ferrofluids in styrene miniemulsion polymerization resulted in inhomogeneous distribution of maghemite among and inside the polymer particles with OA‐based ferrofluids, whereas PAM200/styrene‐based ferrofluids led to magnetic particles with homogeneous distribution of maghemite inside PS particles. Broad PSD and small nonmagnetic particles were however observed. The true mechanisms operating in these systems are still to elucidate, but this study validates PAM200 as an efficient compatibilizing agent between hydrophilic maghemite and hydrophobic PS. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 327–340, 2008     

Co nanoparticles inserted into a porous carbon amorphous matrix: the role of cooling field and temperature on the exchange bias effect

We report unusual cooling field dependence of the exchange bias in oxide-coated cobalt nanoparticles embedded within the nanopores of a carbon matrix. The size-distribution of the nanoparticles and the exchange bias coupling observed up to about 200 K between the Co-oxide shell (～3-4 nm) and the ferromagnetic Co-cores (～4-6 nm) are the key to understand the magnetic properties of this system. The estimated values of the effective anisotropy constant and saturation magnetization obtained from the fit of the zero-field cooling and field cooling magnetization vs. temperature curves agree quite well with those of the bulk fcc-Co.     

Magnetic properties of binary mixtures of metal oxide nanoparticles

The magnetic properties of mixtures of nanoparticles with similar size distributions but distinct superparamagnetic characteristics were investigated by SQUID magnetometry. Metal oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by the thermal decomposition of metal acetylacetonates. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, and SQUID magnetometry. Cobalt ferrite and maghemite nanoparticles with average sizes of 5.1 and 5.0 nm were obtained. Zero field cooled magnetization measurements indicate that the nanoparticles are superparamagnetic, with blocking temperatures of 150 and 22 K, respectively. The zero field cooled measurements for mixtures of the nanoparticles behaved as the sum of the respective superparamagnetic behaviours of the two individual components. This suggests the energy barrier to spin fluctuation is insensitive to the presence of nanoparticles with distinct superparamagnetic characteristics. However, the magnetization versus field measurements provide evidence for interparticle interactions, even at room temperature.     

Alignment of carbon nanotubes under low magnetic fields through attachment of magnetic nanoparticles

The alignment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) has been accomplished through deposition of uniform layers of magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles (diameter = 6-10 nm) and use of an external magnetic field. The coating of CNTs with magnetic nanoparticles was performed by combining the polymer wrapping and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly techniques. The particle-coated MWNTs are superparamagnetic and can be aligned at room temperature on any substrate by deposition from an aqueous solution in an external field B = 0.2 T. The volume magnetization of the particle coated MWNTs is found to be enhanced by 17% compared to the pure particles in a powder indicating that either the adsorption process onto the CNTs changes the particle magnetization, or the MWNTs carry an intrinsic magnetization due to remaining Ni used as a catalyst for the growth process.     

Poly(styrene–b–ethylene/butylene–b–styrene)/cobalt ferrite magnetic nanocomposites

Magnetic nanoparticles were created in or around the sulfonated (s) polystyrene domains in a poly[styrene–b–(ethylene–co–butylene)–b–styrene)] block copolymer (BCP) using an in situ inorganic precipitation procedure. The sBCP was neutralized with a mixed iron/cobalt chloride electrolyte, and the doped samples were converted to their oxides by reaction with sodium hydroxide. Transmission electron microscopy indicated the presence of nanoparticles having diameters of 20–50 nm. Metal oxide particle structures were studied using wide angle X–ray diffraction, which revealed that they were inverse spinel cobalt iron oxide crystals. Thermogravimetric analysis provided the weight percent of the inorganic component and nanocomposite thermal decomposition profile. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry studies suggested that the inorganic inclusions were selectively grown in the polystyrene hard block phase. These nanocomposites were shown, using alternating gradient magnetometry, to be ferrimagnetic at room temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1475–1485, 2005     

Electron magnetic resonance studies of the intercalation ferromagnet 2, 2’-bipyridine-MnPS3 above and below Curie temperature

Electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies of intercalation ferromagnet 2, 2’-bipyridine-MnPS₃ (T_c = 40 K) in the temperature range 300–14 K have revealed many interesting features across the (magnetic) order–disorder transition. The exchange narrowed line in the paramagnetic phase exhibited sudden reduction in its intensity concomitant with a g-shift to lower values (line shifted to higher fields) and increased line width. These changes took place in the 40–25 K range. In the 25–22 K range of temperature, the paramagnetic line disappeared and the FMR signal appeared at lower fields. It is significant that two closely lying FMR signals appeared in the magnetically ordered regime, suggesting the possibility of existence of two different Mn-sites having different g-values, in this state. This may be responsible for the reported magnetic moments values of less than 5.9 BM from bulk magnetisation studies.     

Design of a bismuth ferrite nanocomposite in a polysaccharide matrix

Bismuth ferrite nanobiocomposites obtained using a natural polysaccharide were studied. The morphology of new self-organizing nanobiocomposites, which were dispersed in water, was studied, and the sizes of bismuth ferrite nanoparticles were determined and found to vary in the range of 10–45 nm. The temperature dependence of magnetization of the bismuth ferrite-based nanocomposite with spatially separated particles and the dependencies of magnetization on the external magnetic field at temperatures 5 and 320 K were determined.

     

Magnetic polyvinylamine nanoparticles by in situ precipitation reaction

Magnetic nanoparticles represent emerging tools in biomedical and pharmaceutical research. Because in most cases, the surfaces of these nanoparticles are hydrophobic, surface modifiers are usually applied to stabilize the colloidal suspension in an aqueous media. This investigation reports a simple technique for the preparation of MnFe₂O₄ synthesized within polyvinylamine (PVAm) nanoparticle reactors. Magnetite nanoparticles were previously synthesized using a similar scheme; however, substituting MnFe₂O₄ for Fe₃O₄ improved nanoparticle magnetization properties and further established the synthetic approach. PVAm nanoparticles exhibited more than 18% manganese ferrite loading by weight, a saturation magnetization of ～ 40 emu/g of MnFe₂O₄, excellent colloidal stability, and reactive primary amines for possible drug conjugation or surface modification. Transmission electron micrographs revealed that the dispersions contained ～ 50 nm PVAm nanoparticles incorporating manganese ferrite particles with a size less than ～ 7 nm. This reaction scheme further justifies a unique synthetic methodology for magnetic nanoparticles offering potential use in contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging or drug delivery. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 991–996, 2010     

Polymerization of (p‐vinylphenyl)hydrogalvinoxyl and formation of a stable polyradical derivative

4‐[(3,5‐Di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)(3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐oxo‐cyclohexa‐ 2,5‐dienylidene)methyl]styrene (abbreviated as (p‐vinylphenyl)hydrogalvinoxyl) was polymerized using AIBN as an initiator to give a bright yellow polymer with M w = 3.2 × 10⁴. The polymer was oxidized to give the corresponding polyradical derivative, whose spin concentration could be increased up to about 70 mol % depending on oxidative conditions. ESR signal line‐width in the solid state was greatly increased below 200 K for the polyradical with a high spin concentration (> 50 mol %). The magnetization and magnetic susceptibility indicated weak antiferromagnetic interaction among the radical sites. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 189–198, 1999     

Magnetite‐polylactic acid core–shell nanoparticles by ring‐opening polymerization under microwave irradiation

The synthesis of magnetic core–shell nanoparticles consisting of magnetite cores surface‐functionalized by glycolic acid covered by polylactic acid was performed by applying the “grafting‐from” strategy, where the polymerization is initiated from the particle surface. The surface initiated ring‐opening polymerization of D,L ‐lactide was initiated by tin (II) 2‐ethylhexanoate using microwave irradiation. Core–shell nanoparticles of high colloidal stability in water were obtained in this way. The morphology of the magnetic core–shell nanostructure was determined by transmission electron microscopy, and the chemical structure was elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Magnetic measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior and high magnetization values. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Cubic versus spherical magnetic nanoparticles: the role of surface anisotropy

The magnetic properties of maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) cubic and spherical nanoparticles of similar sizes have been experimentally and theoretically studied. The blocking temperature, T(B), of the nanoparticles depends on their shape, with the spherical ones exhibiting larger T(B). Other low temperature properties such as saturation magnetization, coercivity, loop shift or spin canting are rather similar. The experimental effective anisotropy and the Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the different random surface anisotropy of the two morphologies combined with the low magnetocrystalline anisotropy of gamma-Fe2O3 is the origin of these effects.     

Biodegradable magnetic gel: synthesis and characterization

Biodegradable polymer-based magnetic gels have been synthesized using hydroxypropyl cellulose and maghemite. These magnetic gels have a network of nanoparticles of hydroxypropyl cellulose (30–100 nm) and a homogeneous distribution of nanosized maghemite (~7 nm). This has been observed in a STEM micrograph. The surface structure of the gels has been observed by atomic force microscopy, while transmission electron microscopy has shown the distribution of iron oxide in HPC gel nanoparticles. These gels have magneto-elastic properties. The magnetic susceptibility and magnetization of these gels are measured by a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer.     

Preparation and ferromagnetic properties of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/polyaniline core–shell nanocomposites

Magnetic Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄‐crosslinked polyaniline composites with a core–shell structure were prepared in the presence of Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ magnetic powder in a toluene solution containing iron chloride as a surfactant and dopant. Structural characterization by Fourier transform infrared, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy proved that Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ in the composites was responsible for the ferromagnetic behavior of the composites. The effects of the polyaniline and temperature on the magnetic properties of the Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/polyaniline composites were studied with electron paramagnetic resonance and superconducting quantum interference device techniques. A clear evolution from ferromagnetic resonance to electron paramagnetic resonance was observed as a function of temperature, which was related to the passage through the Curie point (～420 K). The magnetic properties of the resulting composites showed ferromagnetic behavior, such as high‐saturated magnetization (saturation magnetization = 35–39 emu/g), low coercive force (coercivity = 22–28 G), and low blocking temperatures (～23 K). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2657–2664, 2006     

Magnetic properties of small nickel oxide clusters enclosed inY-zeolite

The magnetization of small nickel oxide clusters containing less than four nickel atoms (sample A) and about ten atoms (sample B), respectively, formed inside the supercages ofY-zeolite, was studied in the magnetic field below 50 kOe and in the temperature range of 2 to 600 K. The magnetic susceptibility of sample A obeyed a Curie-Weiss' (C-W) law above about 20 K with a C-W temperature of 12 K. A saturation behavior was observed in the magnetization versus field (M-H) curve below about 20 K. A hysteresis in the M-H curve and a remanent magnetization were found below about 7 K. A similar behavior was observed for sample B. The observed positive C-W temperature indicates a ferromagnetic interaction between nickel ions in each cluster, which is semiquantitatively consistent with nearest neighbor ferromagnetic interactions previously reported for antiferromagnetic NiO single crystals. The hysteresis suggests an enhanced magnetic anisotropy energy in the present clusters.     

Antisymmetric exchange in polynuclear metal complexes

The irreducible tensor operator approach is utilized as a working tool in the spin Hamiltonian formalism for polynuclear systems. The matrix elements for the dinuclear and trinuclear systems are presented that involve the isotropic exchange, spin-Zeeman term, and the antisymmetric exchange. These basics allow an extensive modeling of the energy levels and magnetic functions (temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility and field dependence of the magnetization) for individual Cartesian components and their average for homospin diads and triads. Experimental data on the antisymmetric exchange are reviewed. The tabulations involve data from different sources: the electron paramagnetic resonance, the magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements.     

Solution synthesis of gadolinium nanoparticles

Gadolinium nanoparticles have been produced at subambient temperature by alkalide reduction. The nanoparticles display maxima in the temperature dependence of their magnetization, cooled in the absence of an applied external field, at T(max) of 5.0 and 17.5 K for unheated samples and samples annealed at 1000 degrees C for 4 h, respectively. Field cooled behavior deviates at temperatures slightly above T(max), increasing at lower temperature. Curie-Weiss law fits of the high-temperature data yield magnetic moments in close agreement with those expected for noninteracting Gd(3+) ions, suggesting that the behavior seen is due to a magnetic transition rather than superparamagnetism. Magnetization is linearly dependent on field at temperatures higher than 7-8 times T(max) and shows remanence-free hysteresis at lower temperature, suggesting metamagnetism. Some annealed samples show evidence of additional ferromagnetic interactions below approximately 170 K. Magnetic entropy curves generated from magnetization data are consistent with that expected for a paramagnet.     

A facile route to hollow superparamagnetic magnetite/polystyrene nanocomposite microspheres via inverse miniemulsion polymerization

In this article, we report a facile route to the preparation of hollow superparamagnetic magnetite/polystyrene nanocomposite microspheres via inverse miniemulsion polymerization at room temperature and under ambient pressure. Water droplets act as a soft template for the formation of hollow structure. Meanwhile, the existence of amphipathic magnetite nanoparticles (MPs) which can assemble at the interface of W/O is favorable to the interfacial polymerization of styrene, ensuring the formation of hollow nanocomposite microspheres. The final products were thoroughly characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which showed the formation of hollow magnetite/polystyrene nanocomposite microspheres. Magnetic hysteresis loop measurements revealed that both MPs and hollow nanocomposite microspheres displayed superparamagnetism. The effects of the content of H₂O, sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) and styrene and the dose rate on the morphology of nanocomposite microspheres were studied. Furthermore, the mechanism of the formation of the hollow magnetic microspheres was also discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3900–3910, 2008     

聚(苯乙烯-马来酸酐)/Fe3O4纳米杂化材料的制备与表征

采用2,2,6,6-四甲基-1-哌啶氧化物(TEMPO)的溴盐对化学共沉淀法制备的Fe3O4纳米粒子进行表面修饰,以该粒子为过氧引发剂,苯乙烯(St)、马来酸酐(MA)为单体,采用"活性"/可控自由基聚合技术在粒子表面原位引发聚合,制备了聚(苯乙烯-马来酸酐)/Fe3O4纳米杂化材料,并对纳米Fe3O4及杂化材料进行了FT-IR、XRD、TGA、TEM和GPC表征。结果表明,所制备的纳米杂化材料的平均粒径约为70 nm,磁性粒子表面的聚合物分子链随着聚合时间的增长而增长。振动样品磁强计测试结果显示,在室温、外加磁场下,该纳米杂化材料呈现超顺磁性,饱和磁化强度随着包覆聚合物量的增加而降低。     

Deuterium solid echo line shape study of poly(ethylene oxide) dynamics in a blend with poly(methyl methacrylate)

Deuterium solid echo line shapes were measured on deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) (d₄PEO) in a blend with protonated poly(methyl methacrylate) to characterize chain dynamics of this component in the blend. Line shapes were observed as a function of temperature from 183 to 243 K and echo delay times from 10 to 100 μs on a blend containing 20 wt % d₄PEO. The line shapes and the associated relative intensities were quantitatively interpreted in terms of segmental motion and libration. The results of the interpretation are compared to an earlier study of deuterium spin‐lattice relaxation times over the temperature range of 313 to 413 K. A combined interpretation of both sets of data is developed based on bimodal distribution of correlation times that are separated by about 2 orders of magnitude in time. The faster mode is 30% of the correlation function with a stretched exponent near one while the slower mode is characterized by an exponent of 0.5. The source of the bimodal character is not revealed by the line shape and relaxation data but is consistent with the presence of two glass transition temperatures in this miscible blend and anomalous translational diffusion of diethyl ether through the blend. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 2433–2444, 2005