Synthesis and characterization of neodymium and nickel particles in polymer base actuator

A study of synthesization and magnetic properties of cured polymer composite on nickel (Ni) and neodymium (NdFeB) as an actuator membrane to build a micropump for biotechnology instrumentation is prepared in this work. A soft polymeric material such as polydemethilsiloxane (PDMS) and SU8 3050 are used to be mixed with magnetic nanoparticles Ni and NdFeB to produce a composite material. The mixing process is done by using mechanical stirrer with the speed of 1000rpm. In this work, an easy sol-gel method is selected to embed magnetic particles into the polymer matrix. Characterization of particle distribution is observed by metallurgical microscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is observed that the spreading of magnetic particles inside the polymer chain are constant without clustering effects. Magnetization curves of each sample are traced at room temperature using vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). Good compromising magnetic properties with patternable high aspect ratio structures have been successfully fabricated using a standard MEMS process for an actuator micropump in biomedical application.