ZrO2/PEG hybrid nanocomposites synthesized via sol–gel: Characterization and evaluation of the magnetic properties

•Sol–gel synthesis of ZrO2/PEG amorphous class I organic–inorganic hybrid materials•FT-IR and NMR analyses show the hydrogen bond formation between ZrO2 and PEG.•SEM and BSED analyses confirm that the ZrO2/PEG is homogenous hybrid materials.•The SQUID measures show that the simples are diamagnetic.•Diamagnetic susceptibility of ZrO2/PEG materials increases with the PEG amount.

A sol–gel process was used to synthesize class I organic–inorganic nanocomposite materials consisting of an inorganic ZrO2 matrix in which different percentages of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were incorporated. The formation of hydrogen bonds among the organic and inorganic components was proved by means of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis and confirmed by solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis highlighted the amorphous nature of the synthesized materials. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Back-Scattered Electron Detector (BSED) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed that these materials have homogeneous morphology and nanostructured nature.Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry confirmed the expected diamagnetic character of these compounds. The measured diamagnetic susceptibility values, which increase with PEG amount and are independent from temperature, make these hybrid materials potentially suitable to be synthesized in magnetic levitation under microgravity conditions.