Preparation and characterization of nickel–polystyrene nanocomposite by ultrasound irradiation

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Abstract
Well‐dispersed nickel nanoparticles in polystyrene were obtained by a sonochemical method. The properties of the as‐prepared nanocomposite materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDAX, TGA, DSC, and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The nickel particles were 5 nm in diameter and were very well dispersed in the polystyrene. The magnetization measurements established that the as‐prepared nanocomposite materials are superparamagnetic due to their small size. The saturation magnetization (30.1 emu/g) and coercivity (5 Oe) of the materials were significantly smaller than were those of the bulk nickel, reflecting the nanoparticle nature. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 160–165, 2002