Effect of nano-magnetite particle content on mechanical, thermal and magnetic properties of polypropylene composites

Magnetic nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices have excellent potential for electromagnetic device applications, like electromagnetic interference suppression or strain sensing applications in the structural health monitoring domain. In this work, polymer nanocomposites of polypropylene loaded with varying concentrations of magnetite nanoparticles (from 2 to 40 wt%) have been synthesized by an ex situ process. The magnetite nanoparticles were produced using a simple co-precipitation technique. The nanocomposites were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, tensile and hardness testing, vibrating sample magnetometry. The mechanical properties were found to be dependent on the degree of dispersion and on the strong nucleating ability of magnetite nanoparticles, while a superparamagnetic behavior was reported. These composites have tailorable mechanical and magnetic properties highly dependent on the content of magnetic filler. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E1742–E1750, 2018. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers.