An innovative strategy for the production of novel magnetite poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films with double-capped synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles with citric acid and vitamin C

We study possible modification of synthesized iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) with organic molecules of citric acid (CA) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and then incorporation of dicapped magnetic NPs into valuable poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix. Biocompatible CA and ascorbic acid (AS) coupling agents can create organic functional groups on the surface of Fe₃O₄ NPs for better interfacial compatibility with the organic polymer matrix. Magnetic PVA@Fe₃O₄/CA/AS nanocomposite (NC) films containing 4, 8, and 12 wt% of the modified NPs were successfully manufactured by a fast, green, and safe strategy under ultrasonic irradiation. Surface functionality groups, morphology of the modified NPs, and also the fabricated NCs were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, UV–Visible spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In comparison to the pure PVA, the PVA@Fe₃O₄/CA/AS NCs were shown to have higher decomposition temperature. With incorporation of 4 wt% Fe₃O₄, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the NC have significantly improved compared with PVA. In addition, the surface morphology images showed that NPs were dispersed homogenously into the polymer matrix at nanoscale.