Morphology and magnetic properties of the ethylene-co-vinyl acetate/iron nanocomposite films prepared by implantation with Fe6+ ions

Abstract

Ethylene-co-vinyl acetate/iron nanocomposite films were fabricated by implantation with multiple charged ions at different fluencies. The films obtained with ion fluency of 1 x 10(17) cm(-2) were used for specific studies. It was found that spherical similar to 1.5 nm diameter nanoparticles were formed upon implantation. They were clustered into a single 80 nm wide strip about 40 nm beneath the film surface. The magnetic measurements of the film showed that the particles exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with a blocking temperature below 5K. A second type of the samples was also prepared with ion fluency of 1 x 10(17) cm(-2), but prior to implantation, the iron was evaporated onto the co-polymer surface. A nanocomposite film of different morphology was obtained upon the implantation and the particles were much smaller (-0.8 nm). The magnetic behavior of both the films was that of isolated nanoparticles, despite the high ion fluency of 1 x 10(17) cm(-2). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.