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Development of self-standing, lightweight and flexible polymer-cobalt ferrite nanocomposites for field sensor

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Abstract

In this paper, detailed results of the development (i.e., preparation and characterization using standard techniques) of self-standing, lightweight, flexible polymer (PVDF)-cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nano-composite (PCFNC) thin films have been reported. The occurrence of major electroactive β-phase with small spherulite phase has been detected on the introduction of nano-cobalt ferrite particle in the ferroelectric PVDF polymer using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and atomic force microscope (AFM) techniques. The ambient temperature relative permittivity of PCFNC found to be nearly 80 with a tangent loss of 0.6 suggests the suitability of the composite for a flexible and lightweight capacitor device. Analysis of Impedance spectroscopy data confirms the contributions of grains and grain boundaries to the resistive and capacitive characteristics of the material. The frequency dependence of ac conductivity follows Jonscher’s power law and is found to be in the order of 10−5Ω.m−1. The optical bandgap of the composite is found to be 3.66 eV which has better thermal stability as compared to that of PVDF thin film. The room temperature ferromagnetic hysteresis behaviour displays a saturation magnetization of 4emu/gm. The ferroelectric hysteresis loop provides an invariable saturation polarization of 6μC/cm2 at an applied frequency while the coercive field decreases with rising frequency. The first-order room temperature magneto-electric coupling coefficient of the composite is found to be 198 mV/cm. Oe at zero DC bias magnetic field. This unique field sensing characteristic suggests the potential application of the developed material in multifunctional devices, particularly as a field sensor.

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Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges CRF, IIT Kharagpur for SEM, SQUID experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Agartala, Tripura (W), 799046, India

    C. Behera

  2. CSIR-CIMFR, Bilaspur Unit, Chattishgarh, 495001, India

    N. Pradhan

  3. Department of Physics, V S S University of Technology, Burla, Odisha, 768018, India

    P. R. Das

  4. Multifunctional Materials Research Laboratory, Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed To Be University), Bhubaneswar, 751030, India

    R. N. P. Choudhary

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Behera, C., Pradhan, N., Das, P.R. et al. Development of self-standing, lightweight and flexible polymer-cobalt ferrite nanocomposites for field sensor. J Polym Res 29, 65 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-022-02916-8

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