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Structure and Magnetic Property Control of Copper Hydroxide Acetate by Non‐Classical Crystallization
Author(s) -
Song RuiQi,
KrasiaChristoforou Theodora,
Debus Christian,
Cölfen Helmut
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201602702
Subject(s) - crystallization , materials science , chemical engineering , nanomaterials , ethylene glycol , methacrylate , amorphous solid , polymer , polymerization , hydroxide , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , engineering
Copper hydroxide acetate (CHA), one layered hydroxide compound with tunable magnetism, attracts great interest because of its potential applications in memory devices. However, ferromagnetism for CHA is only demonstrated by means of GPa pressure. Herein, a new method is reported, involving the combination of different crystallization pathways to control crystallization of amorphous CHA toward the formation of CHA/polymer composites with tunable magnetic properties and even a tunability that can be tested at room temperature. By using poly[(ethylene glycol) 6 methyl ether methacrylate]‐ block ‐poly[2‐(acetoacetoxy) ethyl methacrylate] (PEGMA‐ b ‐PAEMA) diblock copolymers as additives in combination with a post‐treatment process by ultracentrifugation, it is demonstrated that CHA and PEGMA‐ b ‐PAEMA form composites exhibiting different magnetic properties, depending on CHA in‐plane nanostructures. Analytical characterization reveals that crystallization of CHA is induced by ultracentrifugation, during which CHA nanostructures can be well controlled by changing the degrees of polymerization of the PEGMA and PAEMA blocks and their block length ratios. These findings not only present the first example of using crystallization from polymer stabilized amorphous precursors toward the generation of magnetic nanomaterials with tunable magnetism but also pave the way for the future design of functional composite materials.