Conductivity and magnetic properties of Zn0.6Cu0.4Cr0.5La0.04Fe1.46O4/PPy composites prepared by in situ inverse microemulsion polymerization

Nanosized Zn0.6Cu0.4Cr0.5La0.04Fe1.46O4 ferrites were prepared by a rheological phase reaction method. Zn0.6Cu0.4Cr0.5La0.04Fe1.46O4/polypyrrole composites were prepared by in situ inverse microemulsion polymerization method. The structure, morphology, conductive and ferromagnetic property of ferrite powders and composites were characterized by powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, four-probe instrument, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was demonstrated that there was some interaction between the ferrite particles and PPy chains in the Zn0.6Cu0.4Cr0.5La0.04Fe1.46O4/PPy composites. The TEM showed that composites presented core-shell structure with a magnetic core of ferrite and an amorphous shell of PPy. The conductive magnetic properties of composites depended on the ferrite content. As the ferrite content increased from 10% to 30%, the conductivity decreased from 0.0423 to 0.0139 S/cm, while the saturation magnetization increased from 4.0 to 9.1 emu/g, and coercivity from 101.6 to 133.5 Oe, respectively. The bonding model for the composites was also studied.