Lightweight glass/Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>-polyaniline composite hollow spheres with conductive and magnetic properties

Lightweight composite hollow spheres with conductive and magnetic properties were prepared by using Hollow Glass Spheres (HGS) as substrate. The morphology, composition, conductive, and magnetic properties of the resultant products were characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR spectra, conductivity measurement, and vibrating-sample magnetometry. Polyaniline (PANI) were in situ polymerized on HGS with increasing ratios of PANI to HGS, resulting in the enhanced conductivity of HGS/PANI composites from 1.3 × 10⁻² S/cm to 4.4 × 10⁻² S/cm. Lightweight glass/Fe₃O₄-PANI composite hollow spheres (HGS/Fe₃O₄-PANI) with conductivity of 5.4 × 10⁻³ S/cm and magnetization of 9.25 emu/g were prepared by deposition of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles onto HGS via electrostatic adsorption first, and then polymerization of aniline onto HGS/Fe₃O₄. The glass/PANI-Fe₃O₄ composite hollow spheres (HGS/PANI-Fe₃O₄) composed of Fe₃O₄ as the outmost layer and PANI as the inner layer were prepared for comparison. The conductivity and magnetization of HGS/PANI-Fe₃O₄ were 1.1 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm and 2.61 emu/g, respectively.     

Preparation and magnetic properties of hollow ferrite microspheres by a gas-phase diffusion method in an ionic liquid/H2O mixed solution

In this work, hollow ferrite microspheres were prepared using a gas-phase diffusion method with cobalt nitrate and ferric nitrate as metal salt sources, an ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-tetrafluoroborate and water-mixed solvent as medium and ammonium carbonate as precipitant. Their structures and magnetization were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, infrared spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, precipitant loading, and mole ratio of Co to Fe n(Co/Fe) on the structures and magnetization of the microspheres were studied. The results showed that ferrite hollow microspheres with uniform morphology and high-magnetic performance were obtained at 60–80 °C for 12–16 h, while the (NH₄)₂CO₃ loading was 0.15 g/ml, n(Co/Fe) was 0.5:1, and calcination temperature was 550 °C. The obtained products consisted of CoFe₂O₄ phase accompanied by ferric oxide phase, with an average particle size about 1 μm and magnetization intensity about 10 emu/g.     

Structure and magnetic properties of FeCo-SiO2 nanocomposite synthesized by a novel wet chemical method

A novel soft magnetic nanocomposite with FeCo particles encapsulated by amorphous SiO₂ was synthesized using a co-precipitation combined H₂ reduction method. The saturation magnetization of the (Fe₇₀Co₃₀)₉₀/(SiO₂)₁₀ nanocomposite is as high as 200 emu/g, which is 4-5 times larger than that of traditional spinel ferrites. The frequency dependence of the complex initial permeability is intensely dependent upon the content of SiO₂ insulating phase. With increasing the content of SiO₂ to 10 wt.%, the cut-off frequency is drastically increased to over 1 GHz. The results show that a new high-frequency soft magnetic material with high saturation magnetization (M_s) can be achieved by introducing FeCo/SiO₂ nanocomposite.     

Large-scale synthesis of high-content Fe nanotubes/nanorings with high magnetization by H2 reduction process

High-content Fe hollow nanostructures from nanotubes (NTs) to nanorings (NRs) have been successfully fabricated by reduction of α-Fe₂O₃ hollow nanostructures at designated temperature. We investigated the influence of reduction condition on the structure and property of the products. With increasing reduction temperature, α-Fe₂O₃ with rhombohedral phase could be converted to cubic inverse spinel phase Fe₃O₄. Thereafter the phase was converted to the dominant cubic Fe preserving the same morphology. The highest M_s is 126 emu/g and 123 emu/g for 70 nm NRs and NTs reduced at 450 °C, respectively. Our results provide a general strategy of reducing single-crystalline α-Fe₂O₃ hollow nanostructures to get high magnetization which is required for many applications.     

The role of RHA-blended cement in stabilizing metal-containing wastes

Time to final setting, strength development and leachability of heavy metals from the solidified wastes using reactive rice husk ash (rRHA)-blended cement as solidification binder were investigated. The rRHA was prepared by firing at 650 °C for 1 h. Synthetic metal hydroxides and plating sludge were solidified using cement blended with 0, 10, 20 and 30 wt.% rRHA. Experimental results showed that synthetic Zn(OH)₂ and the plating sludge caused rapid setting for cement paste but prolong the final setting for rRHA-blended cements. The rate of strength development was also decreased during the first 14 days of curing. However, these interfering effects were reduced when cement was blended with 10 wt.% rRHA. In addition, the plating sludge could be loaded at 30 wt.% to the cement blended with 10 wt.% rRHA and gave both the 28-day strength and metal concentration in TCLP leachates that meet the regulatory limits for landfilling.     

Preparation of chitosan/magnetite composite beads and their application for removal of Pb(II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solution

A simple and effective process has been proposed to prepare chitosan/magnetite nanocomposite beads with saturation magnetization value as high as uncoated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (ca. 54 emu/g). The reason was that the coating chitosan layer was so thin that it did not affect magnetic properties of these composite beads. Especially, chitosan on the surface of the magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles is available for coordinating with heavy metal ions, making those ions removed with the assistance of external magnets. Maximum adsorption capacities for Pb(II) and Ni(II), occurred at pH 6 and under room temperature were as high as 63.33 and 52.55 mg/g respectively, according to Langmuir isotherm model. These results permitted to conclude that chitosan/magnetite nanocomposite beads could serve as a promising adsorbent not only for Pb(II) and Ni(II) (pH = 4–6) but also for other heavy metal ions in wastewater treatment technology.     

Preparation and magnetic property of Fe2O3 parallelepiped nanocrystals

Well-dispersed α-Fe₂O₃ parallelepiped nanocrystals have been successfully prepared via a hydrothermal synthetic route. The shapes and structures of the products were characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the α-Fe₂O₃ samples have a parallelepiped shape with an average parallel side of 80–90 nm and thickness of 60–70 nm. The parallelepiped nanocrystals exhibited a ferromagnetic behavior with the coercive force, saturation magnetization, and remanent magnetization of 920 Oe, 0.44 emu/g, and 0.17 emu/g, respectively. The crystal growth process was discussed on the basis of time-dependent experimental results.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of zirconia-toughened lithium disilicate glass–ceramic composites

The lithium disilicate glass–ceramics composites reinforced and toughened by tetragonal zirconia (3Y-TZP) were prepared by hot-pressing at 800 °C with varying zirconia content from 0 to 30 wt.%. In the case of the composites of small zirconia content (below 10 wt.%), zirconia acted as nucleation agent primarily, and the microstructure was refined continuously. The morphology of Li₂Si₂O₅ crystals transformed from rod-shaped to spherical structure, and the mechanical properties decreased inevitably. For the composites of large zirconia content (from 15 wt.% to 30 wt.%), however, zirconia restrained the phase separation of glass. The morphology of Li₂Si₂O₅ crystals transformed to rod-shaped structure again. The mechanical properties of the composite at zirconia content of 15 wt.% increased up to 340 MPa and 3.5 MPa m^1/2 which were much higher than those of zirconia-free glass–ceramics. The improved properties were attributed mainly to compressive stress reinforcement, phase transformation and bridging toughening mechanisms.     

Preparation and characterization of V/TiO2 nanocatalyst with magnetic nucleus of iron

A magnetic composite containing V/TiO₂ was prepared by combination of sol–gel and wetness impregnation methods. The effects of synthesis temperature, different weight percents of Fe supported on TiO₂, vanadium loading and the heating rate of calcination on the structure and morphology of nanocatalyst were investigated. The optimum conditions for synthesized catalyst were 40 wt.% of Fe, 15 wt.% of V and synthesis temperature equal to 30 °C. Characterization of catalyst is carried out using XRD, TGA, DSC, SEM, FTIR and N₂ physisorption measurements. The magnetic character of nanocatalyst was measured using VSM, which showed the typical paramagnetic behavior of sample at room temperature with a saturation magnetization value equal to 8.283 emu/g. The nanocatalyst has a particle size about 56 nm and can easily be separated from medium by a magnet.     

Preparation of polybenzoxazine-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles through in situ Diels–Alder polymerization for high performance magnetic polybenzoxazine/Fe3O4 nanocomposites

Hybrids and nanocomposites of polymer and magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have been utilized as magnetically-responsive materials and magnetically-directed nanoparticles. In this work, we prepare polymer-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles through in situ Diels–Alder polymerization using maleimide-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle as a precursor. Polybenzoxazine-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (MNP-PBz) have been obtained and characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared, X ray photoelectron, and Raman spectroscopies. The high saturation magnetization value of 51.9 emu g⁻¹ of the MNP-PBz nanoparticles demonstrates its superparamagnetism. Moreover, MNP-FBz has been utilized as a nanofiller for preparation of cured PBz/MNP-PBz nanocomposites, which contain various MNP-PBz contents of 67, 50, 33, and 17 wt.%. The sample of PBz/MNP-PBz-67 shows a storage modulus of 8.0 GPa, a saturation magnetization value of 37.6 emu g⁻¹, and a glass transition temperature above 380 °C. As a result, the PBz/MNP-PBz nanocomposites could be classified as magnetically-responsive high performance materials.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of monodisperse α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Monodisperse α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthetic route using FeCl₃, CH₃COONa as reagents and reacted at 200 °C for 12 h. The morphology and structure of products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were single-crystalline hexagonal structure and average diameters were about 80 nm. Magnetic properties have been detected by a vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature. The nanoparticles exhibited a ferromagnetic behavior with the coercive force (Hc), saturation magnetization (Ms) and remanent magnetization (Mr) was 185.28 Oe and 0.494 emu/g, 0.077 emu/g.     

Effect of divalent metal hydroxide solubility product on the size of ferrite nanoparticles

We study the effect of divalent metal hydroxide solubility product on the size and magnetic properties of nanoparticles formed during co-precipitation. We synthesized ferrite nanoparticles by varying the solubility product from 10^− 13 to 10^− 17 by using different divalent cations of Mn, Co, Fe and Zn, where the average particle size decreased from 29.1 to 8.9 nm. The Mn, Co and Fe ferrites were magnetic in nature with saturation magnetization of 44.6, 47.38 and 56.19 emu/g respectively, whereas the Zn ferrite was paramagnetic. The increase in particle size observed with increasing solubility product of divalent metal hydroxide is in agreement with the nucleation theory.     

Shape controlled synthesis of iron-cobalt alloy magnetic nanoparticles using soft template method

Fe_xCo_1 − x alloy nanoparticles of spherical (x = 0.25, 0.68, 0.85), hollow spherical (x = 0.60) and sheet like (x = 0.60) shapes were prepared at room temperature by reduction of iron chloride tetrahydrate and cobalt chloride hexahydrate with sodium borohydride, using N-Cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)/water/hexanol system as soft template. The size and shapes of nanostructures were found to depend on the concentrations of CTAB and hexanol in water. Composition and shape dependence of magnetic properties of spherical, hollow spherical and sheet like Fe_xCo_1 − x alloy nanostructures were discussed. The highest saturation magnetization of 235 emu/g with a coercivity of 160 Oe was obtained for spherical Fe_0.68Co_0.32 nanoparticles.     

Structural evolution of Aun (n = 29–35) clusters: A transition from hollow cage to amorphous packing

The structural evolution and competition between the hollow cage, amorphous, fcc-like and tubular structures for medium-sized Au_n (n = 29–35) clusters were investigated using density functional theory combined with empirical genetic algorithm search. Au_n (n = 29–32) clusters prefer the hollow cage structures. Amorphous core–shell configurations prevail over other kinds of structural motifs for Au_n (n = 33–35). A transition from hollow cage to amorphous packing occurs at n = 33. The size-dependent HOMO–LUMO gap, vertical ionization potential and electron density of states were discussed to illustrate the relationship between the electronic properties and the geometry structures.     

Epitaxial growth of MgFe2O4 (111) thin films on sapphire (0001) substrate

Pulsed laser deposition technique is used to fabricate thin films of MgFe₂O₄ on sapphire substrate. X-ray diffraction patterns show that films are epitaxial along (???) direction on c-axis oriented sapphire. The observation of six fold symmetry in phi scan for the film suggests the presence of twinned in-plane alignments. The presence of magnetic hysteresis loop at room temperature indicates the ferromagnetic behavior of the film. The coercive field of 742 Oe and remnant magnetization of 151 emu/cm² is observed at room temperature. The coercive field and remnant magnetization decrease with increase in temperature.     

Enhancement of saturation magnetization in epitaxial (111) BiFeO3 films by magnetic annealing

We report the enhancement of the saturation magnetization in BiFeO₃ films achieved by magnetic annealing. The saturation magnetization of the film annealed in a magnetic field is found to be 80 emu/cc, which is an increase nearly by a factor of 10 compared to the as-grown one. From the investigation of optical second harmonic generation (SHG), we observe the presence of s_out-polarization under s_in-polarization in the film annealed in a magnetic field, which implies that the spin state is homogeneous antiferromagnetic one rather than cycloidal one. We interpret the observed large enhancement in the saturation magnetization to be due to the magnetic phase transition from cycloidal to homogenous antiferromagnetic one.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanorod arrays grown via a simple hydrothermal reaction

High density Mn-doped ZnO nanorod arrays were vertically grown on ITO substrate via hydrothermal reaction at relatively low temperature of 95 °C. The microstructure and magnetism of the arrays have been examined. Field emission scanning electron microscopy shows that the nanorods of 100 nm diameter and 1 μm length grow along the [001] direction. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy demonstrates that Mn is successfully doped into the nanorods. Meanwhile, all the Mn-doped ZnO nanorod arrays are ferromagnetic at room temperature. It is also found that the value of the saturation magnetization (M_s) of the ZnO nanorod arrays firstly increases with increasing the Mn concentration and then decreases. The higher M_s value is 0.11emu/g, which is obtained in the 5 at.% Mn-doped ZnO nanorod arrays. The ferromagnetism comes from the ferromagnetic interaction between the Mn ions, which partly replace Zn ions.     

Tricalcium phosphate based resorbable ceramics: Influence of NaF and CaO addition

Resorbable bioceramics have gained much attention due to their time-varying mechanical properties in-vivo. Implanted ceramics degrade allowing bone in-growth and eventual replacement of the artificial material with natural tissue. Calcium phosphate based materials have caught the most significant attention because of their excellent biocompatibility and compositional similarities to natural bone. Doping these ceramics with various metal ions has significantly influenced their properties. In this study, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) compacts were fabricated via uniaxial compression with five compositions: (i) pure TCP, (ii) TCP with 2.0 wt.% NaF, (iii) TCP with 3.0 wt.% CaO, (iv) TCP with a binary of 2.0 wt.% NaF and 0.5 wt.% Ag₂O, and (v) TCP with a quaternary of 1.0 wt.% TiO₂, 0.5 wt.% Ag₂O, 2.0 wt.% NaF, and 3.0 wt.% CaO. These compacts were sintered at 1250 °C for 4 h to obtain dense ceramic structures. Phase analyses were carried out using X-ray diffraction. The presence of NaF in TCP improved densification and increased compression strength from 70 (± 25) to 130 (± 40) MPa. Addition of CaO had no influence on density or strength. Human osteoblast cell growth behavior was studied using an osteoprecursor cell line (OPC 1) to assure that the biocompatibility of these ceramics was not altered due to the dopants. For long-term biodegradation studies, density, weight change, surface microstructure, and uniaxial compression strength were measured as a function of time in a simulated body fluid (SBF). Weight gain in SBF correlated strongly with precipitation viewed in the inter-connected pores of the samples. After 3 months in SBF, all samples displayed a reduction in strength. NaF, CaO and the quaternary compositions maintained the most steady strength loss under SBF.     

Improvement of magnetic properties of nanostructured Ni79Fe16Mo5 alloyed powders by a suitable heat treatment

The supermalloy (Ni₇₉Fe₁₆Mo₅) nanostructured powder with average crystallite size of about 8 nm was prepared by high energy milling. The obtained powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and vibration sample magnetometer. The results showed that the coercivity and the saturation magnetization reach about 8 Oe and 75 emu/g at 96 h and become approximately 1 Oe and 85 emu/g after a suitable heat treatment, respectively. The magnetic measurements confirmed that the supermalloy soft magnetic nanostructure powder was produced by mechanical alloying followed by a post heat treatment. The results revealed that a small amount of Mo element remain in the system up to 96 h due to (i) high fusion temperature, T_f = 2893 K, (ii) high mechanical hardness, (iii) low solubility of Mo into Ni at low temperatures in mechanical alloying conditions.