Synthesis, structural and electrical properties of triethylene glycol (TREG) stabilized Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NPs

Triethylene glycol (TREG) stabilized Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NPs was synthesized by a glycothermal reaction. XRD analysis identified the product as Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 with a high phase purity. Nano-sized particles with an average size of about 6–8 nm were obtained with nearly single crystalline nature with TEM analysis. Superparamagnetic-like behavior of TREG stabilized Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NPs was observed by VSM. The binding between TREG and Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NPs was investigated with FT-IR and found to be via O on the TREG and NP surface. TG analysis indicated that the Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NP content was about 40%, with a TREG-shell content to be around 60%. Overall conductivity of the nanocomposite is in the range of 10−10 to 10−7 S cm−1 with a strong dependence on temperature and frequency, indicating ionic conductivity. The nanocomposite exhibited lower ɛ’ and ɛ″ compared to TREG stabilized Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 NPs due to the doping of co-doping of manganese and cobalt.

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► Superparamagnetic-like behavior of TREG-Mn0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 nanocomposite was observed.
► Due to its small size and superparamagnetism, it is looked for biomedical application.
► The ac conductivity showed an indication of ionic conductivity.
► dc conductivity of the nanocomposite is found to obey the Arrhenius plot.