A polymer-network gel route to oxide composite nanoparticles with core/shell structure

A modified polymer-network gel route has been developed to prepare oxide composite nanoparticles with core/shell structure. The core particles, which are prepared firstly using an acrylamide gel method, are dispersed in the solution of the shell material to form a uniform suspension, and then the suspension system is gelled by the polymerization of acrylamide. The gel is calcined to remove the organic phase, consequently leading to the coating of the shell material on the core particles. The versatility of this sol-gel method in preparing core/shell nanocomposites is evidenced by the example of MgO-coated La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ system. The preparation process has been discussed in detail.