Abstract
The magnetic properties of various families of nanocomposite materials containing nanoparticles of transition metals or transition-metal compounds are reviewed here. The investigated magnetic nanocomposites include materials produced either by dissolving a ferrofluid containing pre-formed nanoparticles of desired composition and size in a fluid resin submitted to subsequent curing treatment, or by generating the nanoparticles during the very synthesis of the embedding matrix. Two typical examples of these production methods are polymer nanocomposites and ceramic nanocomposites. The resulting magnetic properties turn out to be markedly different in these two classes of nanomaterials. The control of nanoparticle size, distribution, and aggregation degree is easier in polymer nanocomposites, where the interparticle interactions can either be minimized or exploited to create magnetic mesostructures characterized by anisotropic magnetic properties; the ensuing applications of polymer nanocomposites as sensors and in devices for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are highlighted. On the other hand, ceramic nanocomposites obtained from transition-metal loaded zeolite precursors exhibit a remarkably complex magnetic behavior originating from the simultaneous presence of zerovalent transition-metal nanoparticles and transition-metal ions dissolved in the matrix; the applications of these nanocomposites in biomedicine and for pollutant remediation are briefly discussed.
Highlights
Nanocomposite (NC) materials have been the subject of exhaustive study for more than three decades
Magnetic NPs dispersed within polymer matrices can be exploited for a number of applications, thanks to the interesting properties that result from the combination of inorganic components and polymers
It should be noted that in polymer nanocomposites, particle aggregation effects are apparent only in the case of low magnetite content; a better dispersion of magnetite nanoparticles is typically observed in materials with a higher filler content
Summary
Nanocomposite (NC) materials have been the subject of exhaustive study for more than three decades. The interest towards inhomogeneous systems containing a nanoparticle (NP) phase has arisen—and is still high—because of their present and prospective functional applications These are basically related to the high surface-to-volume ratio and the high total interfacial area of the embedded. The basic principles of nanomagnetism have been long since established [8], a general predictive picture of the magnetic properties of a given NC, or a family of NCs, is still lacking. This is because a number of ill-known parameters hinder the knowledge of the physical processes at the nanoscale and affect the interpretation of the measured magnetic properties. A Survey of Magnetic Measurements and Typical Magnetic Parameters of Nanocomposite Systems
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