Compositional Influence of Synthesized Magnetic Nanoparticles on Epoxy Composites: Dielectric, Magnetic and Optical Characteristics

ABSTRACTEpoxy nano- magnetic composites exhibit remarkable and promising properties by synergistically combining the properties of epoxy resin and magnetic nanofillers. The current study deals with the synthesis of Fe3O4, NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and their respective nanoparticles-doped epoxy composites, as well as the structural, optical and dielectric characterization of the resultant nano-composites. To investigate the surface morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles, field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis was employed. By measuring electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS), the presence of various chemicals was verified. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the structural details of the synthesized nanoparticles and nanoparticles-doped epoxy composites. The structural chemistry and surface functionality of the nano-epoxy composites were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The magnetic properties of the synthesized nanoparticles and nanoparticles loaded epoxy composites were also studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). UV–visible reflection spectroscopy was also carried out to find the optical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles, neat (undoped) epoxy and nanoparticles-doped epoxy composites. Dielectric spectroscopy measurements of nanoparticles-doped epoxy composites were performed using an Agilent E4980A precision LCR (Inductance Capacitance Resistance) meter with an Agilent 16451B-test fixture LCR and vector network analyzer (VNA) in the frequency span of 10 KHz to 2 MHz and 200 MHz to 20 GHz, respectively. The influence of the synthesized nanoparticles on the neat (undoped) epoxy composites and the results in view of a future applications is fully discussed.Keywords: Magnetic nano particlesEpoxy compositesX-ray diffractionDielectric SpectroscopyVector network analyzerDisclaimerAs a service to authors and researchers we are providing this version of an accepted manuscript (AM). Copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proofs will be undertaken on this manuscript before final publication of the Version of Record (VoR). During production and pre-press, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal relate to these versions also.