Preparation of Nd-doped manganese-zinc-ferrite/polyaniline composite materials.

Mn_0·4Zn_0·6Nd_xFe_2-xO₄/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites with magnetic properties were prepared by in situ polymerisation of aniline in the presence of Mn_0·4Zn_0·6Nd_xFe_2-xO₄ nanoparticles. The structure and morphologies of nanocomposites were characterised by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the size of Mn_0·4Zn_0·6Nd_xFe_2-xO₄ nanocomposites increases with the increase in the Nd doped amount. The optimum doped amount of Nd was 0·075, and the optimum calcination temperature was 850°C. The ferrite particles are well embedded in PANI chains. The FTIR results further prove that the Nd doped manganese-zinc-ferrite/PANI composites have been synthesised. Images (TEM) showed that the nanocomposites presented a spherical structure with a magnetic core of Mn_0·4Zn_0·6Nd_xFe_2-xO₄ and a conducting shell of PANI. The results showed that the electromagnetic properties of the Mn_0·4Zn_0·6Nd_xFe_2-xO₄/PANI composites were related to the mass ratio of PANI, the amount of Nd, the calcination temperature and the precipitation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]