Nanocomposites composed of HEUR polymer and magnetite iron oxide nanoparticles: Structure and magnetic response of the hydrogel and dried state

A novel nanocomposite system composed of hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethane (so-called HEUR) polymer, which is a telechelic polymer, and coated magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (MNp) is investigated. Two different kinds of nanoparticle coatings, are used: a hydrophobic coating composed of oleic acid and oleylamine and a hydrophilic coating having the cationic surfactant C(18)TAB as an additional layer to the hydrophobic nanoparticles. The structure of the nanocomposites as hydrogels with either MNp separately is analyzed using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Furthermore, the dried state is studied in complementary SANS experiments. The magnetic response of the dried state is characterized by magnometry observing a superparamagnetic behavior. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.