Self-Assembly of Polymer-Modified FePt Magnetic Nanoparticles and Block Copolymers
Frank Hartmann,
Martin Bitsch,
Bart-Jan Niebuur,
Marcus Koch,
Tobias Kraus,
Christian Dietz,
Robert W. Stark,
Christopher R. Everett,
Peter Müller-Buschbaum,
Oliver Janka,
Markus Gallei
Affiliations
Frank Hartmann
Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Saarland University, Campus C4 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Martin Bitsch
Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Saarland University, Campus C4 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Bart-Jan Niebuur
INM—Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Marcus Koch
INM—Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Tobias Kraus
INM—Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Christian Dietz
Physics of Surfaces, Institute of Materials Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, Peter-Grünberg-Straße 2, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Robert W. Stark
Physics of Surfaces, Institute of Materials Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, Peter-Grünberg-Straße 2, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Christopher R. Everett
Chair for Functional Materials, Department of Physics, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Peter Müller-Buschbaum
Chair for Functional Materials, Department of Physics, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Oliver Janka
Inorganic Solid-State Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Saarland University, Campus C4 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Markus Gallei
Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Saarland University, Campus C4 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
The fabrication of nanocomposites containing magnetic nanoparticles is gaining interest as a model for application in small electronic devices. The self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) makes these materials ideal for use as a soft matrix to support the structural ordering of the nanoparticles. In this work, a high-molecular-weight polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer (PS-b-PMMA) was synthesized through anionic polymerization. The influence of the addition of different ratios of PMMA-coated FePt nanoparticles (NPs) on the self-assembled morphology was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The self-assembly of the NPs inside the PMMA phase at low particle concentrations was analyzed statistically, and the negative effect of higher particle ratios on the lamellar BCP morphology became visible. The placement of the NPs inside the PMMA phase was also compared to theoretical descriptions. The magnetic addressability of the FePt nanoparticles inside the nanocomposite films was finally analyzed using bimodal magnetic force microscopy and proved the magnetic nature of the nanoparticles inside the microphase-separated BCP films.
