Effect of Polydispersity on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of a Magnetopolymer Composite

Abstract

When using magnetopolymer composites in high-precision industrial and biomedical technologies, the problem of predicting their properties in an external magnetic field arises. In this work, we study theoretically the influence of the polydispersity of a magnetic filler on a composite’s equilibrium magnetization and on the orientational texturing of magnetic particles formed during polymerization. The results are obtained using rigorous methods of statistical mechanics and Monte Carlo computer simulations in the framework the bidisperse approximation. It is shown that by adjusting the dispersione composition of the magnetic filler and the intensity of the magnetic field at which the sample’s polymerization occurs, it is possible to control the composite’s structure and magnetization. The derived analytical expressions determine these regularities. The developed theory takes into account dipole–dipole interparticle interactions and therefore can be applied to predict the properties of concentrated composites. The obtained results are a theoretical basis for the synthesis of magnetopolymer composites with a predetermined structure and magnetic properties. © 2023 by the authors.