Microwave absorption and hyperthermia properties of titanium dioxide–nickel zinc copper ferrite nanocomposite

Abstract

Ni0.5Zn0.4Cu0.1Fe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles (NZCUFO) were prepared using a conventional co-precipitation method. The NZCUFO nanoparticles were then combined with titanium dioxide matrix to make the nanocomposite of [TiO2]0.2[Ni0.5Zn0.4Cu0.1Fe2O4]0.8 (TNZCUFO). The formation of the appropriate crystallographic phase was confirmed by analyzing the X-ray diffraction pattern of the samples. Investigations extracted from the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy imply the successful association of ferrite nanoparticles into the TiO2 matrix. At 300 K, the saturation magnetization of NZCUFO and TNZCUFO reaches 34.6 and 23.4 emu/g, respectively. Mössbauer spectra recorded at 77 and 300 K indicate the presence of superparamagnetic behavior. These results were in agreement with the data obtained from magnetic hysteresis loop, zero field cooled, and field-cooled magnetization measurements. Both the samples were exposed to alternating current inductive heating and the extracted results successfully satisfy the condition of hyperthermia therapy for cancer treatment. The electromagnetic wave absorption capabilities of the samples were measured in the microwave region (8–18 GHz). The microwave reflection loss reaches −13.6 dB at 11.6 GHz and −29.7 dB at 11 GHz for the 2 mm thick samples of NZCUFO and TNZCUFO, respectively. The balanced matching of magnetic and dielectric loss, high magnetization, and specific absorption rate of the samples would be extremely useful for diverse soft magnetic applications.