Issue 31, 2013

Ni–bacterial cellulose nanocomposite; a magnetically active inorganic–organic hybrid gel

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose, which is inherently a non-magnetic hydrogel, has been made magnetic by the infiltration of Ni-nanoparticles via a simple aqueous phase salt reduction method. The resulting hydrogel, when converted to the aerogel and xerogel forms, exhibits different magnetic behaviour due to the microstructural changes, with two distinct size distributions varying from 3.2 nm to 140 nm for the Ni-nanoparticles, and the accompanying magnetic interaction between the particles. The dominant interparticle interactions between the smaller nano-sized particles result in spin glass like collective behaviour at low temperatures. The small fraction of larger particles, on the other hand, exhibit a ferromagnetic response at room temperature with a coercivity varying between 60 G and 110 G depending on the state of the gel. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy density of the small Ni-particles is found to vary from ∼1.4–6.6 × 105 J m−3 in the xerogels. This type of multiphase magnetic behaviour is unique to these gel structures wherein the magnetic particles are formed due to uninhibited natural growth events.

Graphical abstract: Ni–bacterial cellulose nanocomposite; a magnetically active inorganic–organic hybrid gel

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Feb 2013
Accepted
10 May 2013
First published
10 May 2013

RSC Adv., 2013,3, 12765-12773

Ni–bacterial cellulose nanocomposite; a magnetically active inorganic–organic hybrid gel

V. Thiruvengadam and S. Vitta, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 12765 DOI: 10.1039/C3RA40944A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements