Poly(acrylamide) gels with embedded magnetite nanoparticles
S. G. Starodoubtsev
, 
, a, E. V. Saenkoa, A. R. Khokhlova, V. V. Volkovb, K. A. Dembob, V. V. Klechkovskayab, E. V. Shtykovab and I. S. Zanaveskinab
a Physics Department, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninsky Gory, Moscow 119992, Russia
b Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 59 Leninsky Pr., Moscow 117333, Russia
Available online 11 June 2003.
Magnetic gels are a new class of soft polymer materials with their properties controlled by magnetic fields. A method was developed for the preparation of magnetite nanoparticles in a matrix of poly(acrylamide) gel. Synthesis of the magnetic spinel iron oxide Fe3O4 in a matrix of poly(acrylamide) gel was performed via coprecipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in alkaline medium. The effects of the cross-link density, the concentration of polymer and salt in the swollen network during preparation on the composition, structure and properties of the magnetic gels were studied by electronography, TEM and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The crystalline lattice of the particles was determined as magnetite. The average size of the particles, d, calculated from the half-width of the diffraction peaks, is of the order of 10 nm. The obtained data demonstrate a marked difference in size distribution of magnetic particles in gels of different structure.
Author Keywords: Magnetic gels; Nanoparticles; Polymer nanocomposites; Superparamagnetism; Iron oxides
