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In situ polymerization of barium hexaferrite ferrofluids for poly(Ethylene) succinate magnetic nanoparticle composites

In situ polymerization of barium hexaferrite ferrofluids for poly(Ethylene) succinate magnetic nanoparticle composites
In situ polymerization of barium hexaferrite ferrofluids for poly(Ethylene) succinate magnetic nanoparticle composites

The integration of hard magnetic barium hexaferrite (BHF) nanoplatelets into a dense poly(ethylene succinate) (PES) polyester matrix produces an exciting biodegradable thermoplastic magnetic polymer nanocomposite. In this work, scandium-substituted BHF nanoplatelets are grown and stabilized in hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant and subsequently dispersed in ethylene glycol, producing a stable ferrofluid. The ferrofluid is used for an in situ step-growth condensation polymerization reaction between the ethylene glycol-based ferrofluid and succinic acid. The polymerized ferrofluid forms a hard magnetic nanocomposite with filler content of up to 4.5 wt% of BHF nanoplatelets, which are homogeneously dispersed within a solid polymer matrix. With a filler content 16 times higher than in previous studies, the nanocomposite was chemically analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) and optimized for chain length and molecular weight, reaction time and temperature, magnetic moment, and surface hardness. The polymer molecular weight was found to be 1359 g/mol with a monomer-to-polymer conversion of 89%. Highly dense polymer composites were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), while magnetic properties were determined by vibrating sample magnetometry (vsm). The synthesized magnetic thermoplastic polymer composite shows excellent magnetic properties, opening the way to advanced 3D magnetic printing and biomedical applications.

barium hexaferrite, ethylene glycol, ferrofluid, hard magnetic polymer, nanocomposite
0021-8995
Ahmed, Y.
13ca8f40-9df2-40e1-b066-2798ebe8ffcd
Ward, B. D.
dbfabfc9-4913-4a26-b794-2b5f8f643a0b
Steer, J.
19fab79c-1991-4762-85da-abda7ce82ab1
Zabek, D.
7281d29f-829d-4f54-89a2-ee4f48a357af
Ahmed, Y.
13ca8f40-9df2-40e1-b066-2798ebe8ffcd
Ward, B. D.
dbfabfc9-4913-4a26-b794-2b5f8f643a0b
Steer, J.
19fab79c-1991-4762-85da-abda7ce82ab1
Zabek, D.
7281d29f-829d-4f54-89a2-ee4f48a357af

Ahmed, Y., Ward, B. D., Steer, J. and Zabek, D. (2025) In situ polymerization of barium hexaferrite ferrofluids for poly(Ethylene) succinate magnetic nanoparticle composites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 142 (23), [e56984]. (doi:10.1002/app.56984).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The integration of hard magnetic barium hexaferrite (BHF) nanoplatelets into a dense poly(ethylene succinate) (PES) polyester matrix produces an exciting biodegradable thermoplastic magnetic polymer nanocomposite. In this work, scandium-substituted BHF nanoplatelets are grown and stabilized in hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant and subsequently dispersed in ethylene glycol, producing a stable ferrofluid. The ferrofluid is used for an in situ step-growth condensation polymerization reaction between the ethylene glycol-based ferrofluid and succinic acid. The polymerized ferrofluid forms a hard magnetic nanocomposite with filler content of up to 4.5 wt% of BHF nanoplatelets, which are homogeneously dispersed within a solid polymer matrix. With a filler content 16 times higher than in previous studies, the nanocomposite was chemically analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) and optimized for chain length and molecular weight, reaction time and temperature, magnetic moment, and surface hardness. The polymer molecular weight was found to be 1359 g/mol with a monomer-to-polymer conversion of 89%. Highly dense polymer composites were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), while magnetic properties were determined by vibrating sample magnetometry (vsm). The synthesized magnetic thermoplastic polymer composite shows excellent magnetic properties, opening the way to advanced 3D magnetic printing and biomedical applications.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 25 February 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 March 2025
Published date: 15 June 2025
Keywords: barium hexaferrite, ethylene glycol, ferrofluid, hard magnetic polymer, nanocomposite

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 500170
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/500170
ISSN: 0021-8995
PURE UUID: 361fa46e-932d-4d08-8aa3-ff20c82cbf59
ORCID for J. Steer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6288-1347
ORCID for D. Zabek: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5856-5301

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Apr 2025 16:49
Last modified: 27 Aug 2025 02:19

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Contributors

Author: Y. Ahmed
Author: B. D. Ward
Author: J. Steer ORCID iD
Author: D. Zabek ORCID iD

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