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The dispersion of magnetic nanorods in poly(2‐vinylpyridine)
Author(s) -
Lo ChiehTsung,
Tsui KaiHsiang
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.4462
Subject(s) - nanorod , van der waals force , materials science , dispersion (optics) , particle (ecology) , polymer , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , particle size , chemical physics , molecule , chemistry , composite material , physics , organic chemistry , optics , oceanography , engineering , geology
Abstract The dispersion of magnetic nanorods in poly(2‐vinylpyridine) ( PVP ) as a function of rod length, particle loading and molecular weight of PVP was investigated. The nanorods were organized into small spherical clusters at low particle loading. Further increasing the particle concentration caused an increase in the size of the aggregates. Additionally, the internal structure of the nanorods developed into a raft‐like structure, forming rectangular clusters. The incorporation of longer nanorods in the PVP amplified the magnetic interaction energy, which created conditions to induce extensive aggregation. The entanglement of the polymer also played an important role in the arrangement of the nanorods. This behavior could be categorized into two regimes, M PVP > M e and M PVP < M e , where M PVP and M e are the number‐average molecular weight and entanglement molecular weight of PVP , respectively: for M PVP > M e , PVP formed entanglements that prevented nanorods from extensive aggregation; for M PVP < M e , PVP could not form entanglements, and nanorods could move freely in the PVP, and thus significant rod aggregation occurred. Simple calculations to assess the contribution of the magnetic interaction, the van der Waals interaction and the free energy of mixing of the system to the arrangement of magnetic nanorods in the homopolymer are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry