Monolithic magneto-optical nanocomposites of barium hexaferrite platelets in PMMAFerk, Gregor (Avtor) Krajnc, Peter (Avtor) Hamler, Anton (Avtor) Mertelj, Alenka (Avtor) Cebollada, Federico (Avtor) Drofenik, Mihael (Avtor) Lisjak, Darja (Avtor) polymer compositesnanoparticlespolymethyl methacrylatePMMAThe incorporation of magnetic barium hexaferrite nanoparticles in a transparent polymer matrix of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is reported for the first time. The barium hexaferrite nanoplatelets doped with Sc3+, i.e., BaSc0.5Fe11.5O12 (BaHF), having diameters in the range 20 to 130 nm and thicknesses of approximately 5 nm, are synthesized hydrothermally and stabilized in 1-butanol with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid. This method enables the preparation of monolithic nanocomposites by admixing the BaHF suspension into a liquid monomer, followed by in-situ, bulk free-radical polymerization. The PMMA retains its transparency for loadings of BaHF nanoparticles up to 0.27 wt.%, meaning that magnetically and optically anisotropic, monolithic nanocomposites can be synthesized when the polymerization is carried out in a magnetic field. The excellent dispersion of the magnetic nanoparticles, coupled with a reasonable control over the magnetic properties achieved in this investigation, is encouraging for the magneto-optical applications of these materials.20152016-06-09 03:15:13Znanstveno delo60157sl