Synthesis and magnetic properties of bacterial cellulose—ferrite (MFe2O4, M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu) nanocomposites prepared by co-precipitation method*

Nipaporn Sriplai, Wiyada Mongkolthanaruk and Supree Pinitsoontorn

Abstract

The magnetic nanocomposites based on bacterial cellulose (BC) matrix and ferrite (MFe₂O₄, M  =  Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated. The never-dried and freeze-dried BC nanofibrils were used as templates and a co-precipitation method was applied for NPs synthesis. The nanocomposites were either freeze-dried or annealed before subjected to characterization. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that only MnFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂O₄ NPs could be successfully incorporated in the BC nanostructures. The results also indicated that the BC template should be freeze-dried prior to the co-precipitation process. The magnetic measurement by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) showed that the strongest ferromagnetic signal was found for BC-CoFe₂O₄nanocomposites. The morphological investigation by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed the largest volume fraction of NPs in the BC-CoFe₂O₄ sample which was complimentary to the magnetic property measurement. Annealing resulted in the collapse of the opened nanostructure of the BC composites