Methodology for determination of magnetic force of polymeric nanocomposites

Magnetic nanocomposites present several interesting uses. They are very useful in environmental recovery, drug delivery and sensor applications. However, sophisticated magnetic measurements are very complex and present high costs, which may sometimes prevent research on these materials. Therefore, this paper presents a magnetic force test, which can be performed at relatively low cost and produces interesting results, which are very useful to support the development of these magnetic materials. Specifically, polylactic acid (PLA)/maghemite nanocomposites were prepared and characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Our results demonstrate that nanocomposites, were obtained, which were also subjected to the magnetic force and magnetic susceptibility tests. The results of these latter tests were found to be linearly related, which proves the utility of the magnetic force test as a practical characterization technique.