(59c) Tunable Magnetoresistance of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites

Magnetoresistance (MR) describes a resistance change upon applying an external magnetic field. Over the past few decades, interest in the MR effect has grown rapidly due to its many applications in magnetic recording systems, especially computer memory and storage systems.¹ With unique physical and chemical property, conductive polymer nanocomposites show great potential for MR applications. In this work, the core-shell structural conductive polymer nanocomposites were synthesized by a surface initiated polymerization method. The chemical structure, crystallinity, morphology, and thermal stability of the polymer nanocomposites were reported. The nanofiller type (organic or inorganic, magnetic or nomagnetic, conductive to insulator), size, morphology (1, 2 and 3 D), and loading effects on the MR behavior of the conductive polymer nanocomposites were studied. The temperature dependent resistance of the magnetite nanocomposites indicated a 3-D variable range hopping (VRH) electrical conduction mechanism. Both positive and negative MR were observed in the polymer nanocomposites. The positive MR was analyzed by the wave function shrinkage model; the negative MR was analyzed by the orbital magnetoconductivity theory.²

Reference:

1. H. Gu, J. Guo, H. Wei, S. Guo, J. Liu, Y. Huang, M. A. Khan, X. Wang, D. P. Young, S. Wei and Z. Guo, Advanced Materials, 2015, 27, 6277-6282.

2. J. Guo, H. Gu, H. Wei, Q. Zhang, N. Haldolaarachchige, Y. Li, D. P. Young, S. Wei and Z. Guo, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2013, 117, 10191-10202.

 

Acknowledgements：

This project is financially supported by the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF# 53930-ND6).