title: Monolithic Magneto-Optical Nanocomposites of Barium Hexaferrite Platelets in PMMA.
abstract: The incorporation of magnetic barium hexaferrite nanoparticles in a transparent polymer matrix of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is reported for the first time. The barium hexaferrite nanoplatelets doped with Sc(3+), i.e., BaSc0.5Fe11.5O12 (BaHF), having diameters in the range 20 to 130 nm and thicknesses of approximately 5 nm, are synthesized hydrothermally and stabilized in 1-butanol with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid. This method enables the preparation of monolithic nanocomposites by admixing the BaHF suspension into a liquid monomer, followed by in-situ, bulk free-radical polymerization. The PMMA retains its transparency for loadings of BaHF nanoparticles up to 0.27 wt.%, meaning that magnetically and optically anisotropic, monolithic nanocomposites can be synthesized when the polymerization is carried out in a magnetic field. The excellent dispersion of the magnetic nanoparticles, coupled with a reasonable control over the magnetic properties achieved in this investigation, is encouraging for the magneto-optical applications of these materials.
authors.affiliation: University of Maribor, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferk
authors.affiliation: University of Maribor, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krajnc
authors.affiliation: University of Maribor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamler
authors.affiliation: Jožef Stefan Institute, Department for Complex Matter, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Alenka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mertelj
authors.affiliation: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, POEMMA-CEMDATIC, ETSI de Telecomunicación, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cebollada
authors.affiliation: 1] University of Maribor, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia [2] Jožef Stefan Institute, Department for Materials Synthesis, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Miha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drofenik
authors.affiliation: Jožef Stefan Institute, Department for Materials Synthesis, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Darja
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lisjak