Study of Nanostructural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Mn_(0.6)Fe_(2.4)O_4-PEG/PVP/PVA Ferrogels for Optoelectronic Applications

摘要

Ferrogels based on polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyvinyl alcohol (PVP/PVA) matrices with Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-polyethylene glycol (Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG) were synthesized using the freezing-thawing method. The phase structure and morphology of ferrogels with Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG filler were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG/PVP/PVA ferrogel was characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering to determine the distribution of Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG nanoparticles through two-lognormal data analysis; the semicrystallite distribution of the PVP/PVA was investigated using the Beaucage and Teubner-Strey models. The optical and electrical properties of the Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG nanoparticles were characterized using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The XRD analysis showed that the Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG exhibits an inverse-spinel cubic structure with an average particle size of 10.2 nm. This result was corroborated by TEM analysis, which revealed an average size of 10.9 nm through the Image-J software analysis. The two-lognormal method was used to analyze the distribution of Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG nanoparticles in the ferrogel, revealing a secondary particle size of approximately 9.8 nm. These secondary particles are, on average, evenly arranged with respect to the primary particles with a diameter of 3.3 nm. UV-Vis data analysis showed that the refractive index and energy gap of the Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG nanoparticles were approximately 2.79 and 2.24 eV, respectively. The optical conductivity and electrical conductivity calculated from the refractive-index and energy-gap data were 1.27 x 10(8)and 70 omega(-1) cm(-1), respectively. These results indicate that the Mn0.6Fe2.4O4-PEG nanoparticles exhibit strong potential for use as a base material in optoelectronics applications.