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Abstract
A universal method of introduction of metal-containing nano-particles in polymeric matrices has been developed,
which allows for the fabricating of large amounts (kilogram-scale) of polymeric nanoparticles composites. The
encapsulation was done by thermal decomposition of metalcontaining compounds (MRn ; M= Cr, Mo, W, Ti, Zr, Fe,
Co, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu; R=CO, HCOO, CH3COO, C6H5CH2) in solution melt of polymer (polyethylene, polypropylene,
polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamide, polyarylate, polycarbonate, polysterene, polyethers, polyphenyleneoxide, silox-
ane). Particle size measurement (2–10 nm) and magnetic properties showed that the material really contained the
nanoparticles, which were retaining their unique properties. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
0927-7757/02/$ - see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 7 - 7 7 5 7 ( 0 1 ) 0 1 0 7 4 - 3
156 S.P. Gubin / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2002) 155–163
pared by attrition, milling and precipitation from acetates, formiates and some other classes of co-
nonsolvents or from supersaturation solutions [5– ordination compounds, including organometallics
7]. The role of macromolecules in these processes (M= Cr, Mo, W, Ti, Zr, Fe, Co, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu)
has been that of a dispersing and stabilizing have been used as MCC. The polymer matrix
agent. But these methods are not applicable for used in this study is a commercial polymer manu-
fabrication of the particles with diameter as small factured by Russian Companies and marketed
as 1–10 nm. under the following trade names, PE (low density)
We have recently found that it is possible to 277-020; PE(high density) 153-020 and 108-020;
introduce nanoparticles into ordinary polymers PP 21012 and 21030; PA 6-120/310 and PA 6-210.
like polyethylene. As a rule such nanoencapsula- In the typical experiment the solution of MCC
tion is done using solution/melt of polymer in in the volatile organic solvent under on inert
hydrocarbon oil. For introduction of nano-parti- atmosphere has been dropped under strong stir-
cles in polymeric matrixes these were used for ring to solution/melt of the polymer in hydrocar-
their formation in situ as a result of high velocity bon oil. The temperature of the reaction was
thermodestruction of metalcontaining (including connected with the nature of the polymer and has
organometallic) compounds (MCC). The opti- been fixed in the interval 200– 260 °C. The sol-
mum conditions are developed for the decomposi- vent and the volatile products of MCC decompo-
tion of MCC in order to introduce complicated sition have been condensed in the cooled
and highly reactive nanoparticles into the poly- collector. The solid product has been isolated
meric matrix. For the subsequent characterization from the excess of oil after cooling of the reaction
we have used small-angle X-ray scattering mixture. The residual amounts of oil have been
(SAXS), X-ray RED, EXAFS, X-ray emission separated by extraction.
spectroscopy and Mossbauer effect measurements The samples, obtained as dark-colored pow-
in combination. ders, was assigned for further structural and phys-
In some case the physical properties of the ical investigations. The material were produced in
obtained material are nontrivial. the form of tablets 1– 4 mm thick and 15–20 mm
Generally, the electrical and magnetic behavior in diameter. The samples have been fabricated
of nano-structured systems is governed by both with the metal weight concentration in the range
the intrinsic properties of the nano-structures and 2 –50%, in 2% step.
their interactions with the matrix. Thus, the mag- For the preparation of heterometallic nanopar-
netic behavior of the system can be controlled by ticles we used as a rule available heterometallic
the size, shape, chemical composition and struc- MCC; in some case labile heterometallic MCC
ture of the nano-particles and/or by the nature of were prepared in solution immediately before
the matrix in which they are embedded. adding in reaction mixture. For example, the first
Magnetic particles in the nano-meter range samples of polymer-nano-ferrites, PE+ 5%
form single magnetic domains in which the mag- BaFe2O4 and PE + 5% BaFe12O19 were produced
netic moment performs fast fluctuation near an [8] by the above method.
easy direction (collective magnetic excitations), as Elemental analyses were performed in the ana-
well as, slower fluctuation between different easy lytical laboratory of our institute. The powder
directions (superparamagnetic relaxation). X-ray diffraction patterns of samples were
In this article, we report briefly on the magnetic recorded with CuKa, radiation in the 2q range of
properties of these nanocomposite materials. 0–35° using a standard X-ray unit.
Our diffraction experiments were performed
with the small-angle camera ‘Frax’, used in a
2. Materials and methods small-angular version. The X-ray synchrotron ra-
diation (u=1115 A, ) from VEPP-4 (Novosibirsk)
All chemicals and solvents used for the prepara- was reflected by monochromator and high-order
tion of samples were reagent grade. Carbonyls, reflections were eliminated by means of an X-ray
S.P. Gubin / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2002) 155–163 157
mirror (Pt-coated melt quartz). All DC magne- The process of forming nanoparticles by droplet
tization measurements were performed on a vi- decomposition can be viewed in the simplest case
brating sample magnetometer PARC-155. The as the drying of droplets followed by solid and
morphology, particle size and distribution were liquid phase chemical reactions in a nanoreactor-
investigated using a high-resolution electron mi- polymer cavity; the typical examples of MCC
croscope (JEM-100B-1). For the preparation of thermal decomposition are:
samples the powders of nanometallopolymer were
Cu(HCOO)2 Cu + H2O+ CO2 + CO
dispersed in water in an ultrasonic bath for 20
min and then a drop of this suspension was Ti(C6H5CH2)4 Ti +C6H5CH3 + (C6H5CH2)
deposited onto a carbon mesh on a copper grid.
Fe(CO)5 Fe +Fe3C+ CO2 + CO
The process has been organized in such a way,
3. Results and discussion that thermodestruction of MCC was only in the
polymer volume (a separate metal phase was ab-
3.1. Preparation sent) and every new drop of MCC solution
reached its own nanoreactor. At high supersatura-
Our goal was the creation of large-scale materi- tion, particle formation occurs by homogeneous
als, where metalcontaining nanoparticles (d =1 – nucleation. Nucleation is followed by particle
10 nm) retained their unique physical properties growth and, for sufficiently high particle concen-
and were uniformly distributed. Many properties trations, by coagulation and agglomeration. How-
of nano-particles are very sensitive to their vol- ever, the actual behavior of the system is in many
ume, therefore, it is vital to have a material with cases more complicated.
narrow particle size distribution. Experiments on kinetic have shown that the
All above-mentioned polymers are semicrys- growth of particles occurs simultaneously in many
talline. Their fine texture is determined by the cavities in all the polymer volume; the number
size, shape, and orientation of crystallites, and and the sizes of such cavities are specific to each
their distribution, as well as by the structure of polymeric matrix. The semicrystalline polymers
the amorphous regions. The structure of such used in this investigation had heterogeneous struc-
polymers is loose, they contain many nano-voids, tures with lamellar, cylindrical or spherical nano-
which is natural in any polymers. These voids domains of different sizes that could serve as
(nanoreactors) are connected with polymer nano-reactors; inside them a variety of nanoparti-
molecules packing and located both within and cles could be synthesised in a controlled manner.
between crystalline and amorphous parts of mi-
cro-volumes [9,10]. The access of MCC in these
nanoreactors has been achieved because of ‘part-
ing’ of the polymeric chains (lamels) with the
labile short molecules of hydrocarbon oil under
high temperatures and intensive stirring. The pro-
cesses are chematically shown at the Fig. 1.
Nanoparticles were generated by the following
method. MCCs were dissolved in a volatile sol-
vent; the solution droplets were then passed into a
reaction vessel where a chemical reaction took
place to convert the reactants to nanoparticles
having the required composition. Average resi-
dence times were typically few seconds with tem-
peratures of 200– 260 °C. The liquid droplets are Fig. 1. The model of transformation of MCC solution by
deposited into a heated solution/melt of polymer. dropping of nano-particle.
158 S.P. Gubin / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2002) 155–163
Fig. 5. Model of the described Mossbauer spectrum PE + 4.5% Fe (composition, C 81.22%; H 12.7%; Fe 4.54%).
PE’ samples shows the superposition of three or Experimental EXAFS data on r and Z for
more phases and are satisfactorily described by a PE + 5%Mo show (Fig. 6) that the sample con-
model that include the superposition of four sex- tains metallic Mo (interatomic distances A well
tets and two doublets. It should be noted that coincide with the metallic ones). The peak with
with the change of the iron content in the PE, the
spectra also change.
According to our experimental data, nano-par-
ticles have a complex composition and structure
that depend on the concentration of metal in the
polymeric matrix. All particles are multiphase,
they contain metal, metal carbide and metal ox-
ides. This seems to a general conclusion valid for
most samples, not only for Fe-containing ones.
The phase analysis of samples with M= Mo
has been carried out by two methods, by con-
struction of radial electronic density distribution
functions obtained from the curve of intensity of
X-ray scattering (X-ray RED) [14,15] and EX-
AFS-spectroscopy [16]. Both methods give values
of interatomic distances (r) and coordination
numbers (Z), which can be compared with those
calculated from structural data for a certain
phase. Thus, X-ray RED and EXAFS methods Fig. 6. EXAFS of nano-composite PE +5% Mo (composition,
inspect and supplement each other. C 80.65%; H 12.4%; Mo 4,93%).
S.P. Gubin / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2002) 155–163 161
r =1.97A can be assigned to the distance Mo– C/ nano-particle by interaction with polymer matrix
O and indicates either at interaction of metal with with in certain limits. The presence on the surface
a matrix or oxidation; probably, the both cases of Fe-particles of a phase that corresponded in
took place. X-ray RED analysis showed that both general to the phase FeF2-high spin iron ions
metal and oxide phases were observed. (Kb5-spectra) was established by X-ray emission
The bonding of metal with surrounding atoms and Mossbauer spectroscopy [17,18]. It can take
and the density of unpaired 3-D electrons local- place only owing to defluorination of polyte-
ized on the metal atoms has been investigated trafluoroethylene by highly reactive iron nano-
using the X-ray emission spectra. These spectra particles. This result is not only novel, but also
are useful in solving some structural problems and very important because, in practice, polyte-
provide information on atomic orbitals of nearest trafluoroethylene is considered to be one of the
neighbor atoms or molecular orbitals of matrix- most inert polymers and its defluorination is a
pseudoligand. In all materials Mossbauer and X- very complicated task. Analogous result was ob-
ray spectroscopic investigations point to three tained with more reactive polymers, such as
essential results: polyvinyl chloride (Fe–Cl phase), polyethyleneg-
1. nano-particles are multiphase, irrespective lycol (Fe –O phase), polyamine (Fe–N phase),
of the concentration of metal in the poly- polysilane (Fe–Si phase) [19] etc. Thus, the role of
meric matrix; a polymeric matrix is not reduced only to a role of
2. the phase composition of the nano-particles environment for retaining of nano-particles. As it
differs sharply in the materials with low and was shown the surface atoms of nano-particles
high concentration of metal in the matrix; effectively interacted with environmental poly-
meric circuits. The nanoparticle, growing in these
3. there are the direct metalC bonds with
matrixes, will partially destroy environmental
matrix.
polymer chains by bond breaking involving the
atoms F, Cl, O, N or C. The last ones are the
3.2.2. Matrices
potential ligands for creation on a surface of
It was demonstrated that the matrix inside that
particles appropriate metal-ion subphase
the nano-particles were synthesized played an ac-
(environment).
tive role in determining their composition and For the determination of modifications to the
chemical and physical properties in addition to structure of a polymeric matrix we used 1H Wide-
providing the means for particle dispersion. The Line NMR-spectra with success [20].
macroscopic properties of the nano-composites The temperature dependence of the width of the
reflected the combined action of the interfaces proton resonance line arising from bulk samples
between the nano-particles and the matrix, the of polymers (wide-line spectra) provided an infor-
matrix properties, the quantum-size effects and mation on the molecular motion of hydrocarbon
the morphologies of the nano-structure. chains. A study of the second moment of (S2) and
It was shown that using the same MCC and various relaxation times (T1, T2) of the resonance
under the same conditions (concentrations, solu- line as a function of the content of metallic parti-
tion temperature, time for addition of the MCC, cles yields important data on the variation of
stirring velocity, etc.), the nature of the polymeric degree of crystallinity, chain axis orientation, and
matrix had an impact on, (a) the size of the degree of molecular motion. For example, the
particles; (b) the mean distances between the narrow component of a spectrum attributed to
nano-particles; (c) the composition of the parti- the noncrystalline (amorphous) regions disap-
cles. The methods that were developed made it peared in a PE–Fe system with Fe content above
possible to control these processes and to direct 3%, whereas in the PE–Ni system, this occurred
them to obtain materials with predetermined only when the Ni content was higher than 8%.
structural parameters. However, the wide component of a spectrum
We showed, that it was possible to change the could be written down to 30% Ni in the PE, but
chemical structure of an external surface of a for Fe, only up to 8%.
162 S.P. Gubin / Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 202 (2002) 155–163
3.3. Properties
From above it is evident, that the implemented [3] J.L. Dorman, D. Fiorani (Eds.), Magnetic Properties of
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Appl. Phys. 89 (2001) 2293.
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Applied to Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 2, Plenum Press,
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This research demonstrates the significant poten-
1992 (in Russia).
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[19] S.P. Gubin, A.V. Kozinkin, M.I. Afanasov, N.A. Popova,
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35 (1999) 237 (in Russia).
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contributed substantially to the synthesis and in- lution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in
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A.V. Kozinkin and Dr D.A. Pankratov for com- [21] S.P. Gubin, I.D. Kosobudskii, Usp. Khim. 52 (1983)
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experimental and theoretical analysis of magnetic (1983) 766.
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