Synthesis, structural and conductivity characterization of alginic acid-Fe3O4 nanocomposite

Alginic acid-Fe3O4 nanocomposite is synthesized by the precipitation of Fe3O4 in the presence of alginic acid (AA). Structural, surface, morphological, thermal and electrical transport properties of the nanocomposite were performed by XRD, FT-IR, TEM-SEM, TGA and conductivity measurements respectively. FT-IR analysis revealed that Fe3O4 NPs are strongly capped with AA and TGA analysis showed that nanocomposite have 80% of Fe3O4 content. TEM analysis of Fe3O4 NPs show an average particle size of 9.5 nm, and upon nanocomposite formation with AA these particles are observed to form aggregates of similar to 150 nm. The frequency-dependency of the AC conductivity show electrode polarization effect. Analysis of electrical modulus and dielectric permittivity functions suggest that ionic and polymer segmental motions are strongly coupled. DC electrical conductivity is strongly temperature dependent, and is classified into three regions over a limited temperature range of up to 100 A degrees C.