Tuning the structural, morphological, optical, dielectric, and magnetic properties of PVA via embedding with CoFe2O4:CuO nanoparticles

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) embedded CoFe2O4: CuO (CC) nanocomposites (NC) were prepared by casting technique. The prepared CoFe2O4 (CFO) sample have crystallite size in the range of 20.10-29.08 nm, whereas the crystallite sizes of CuO were found in the range of 20.29-23.68 nm, respectively. TEM images revealed the spherical shape morphology of CC nanocomposite with an average particle size distribution of 15 nm. The Urbach energy of the PCC films increased from 0.44 to 2.590 eV, whereas the direct optical band gaps decreased from 5.584 to 4.345 eV, respectively. The refractive indices of the PCC films were found to be in the range of 1.9-2.6, depending on the different models. Room Temperature-dependent saturation magnetization and coercive field for the prepared nanocomposites were found to be 0.52-1.296 (emu/g) and 1210-1340 (Oe), respectively. The uniaxial magnetic anisotropic constant of PCC films was remarkably enhanced from 0.654x103 to 3.826x103 (erg/cm3) for PCC2, PCC3, and PCC4, correspondingly. The enhanced values of dielectric and magnetic parameters of the prepared nanocomposites suggest their suitability for magnetic recording and memory systems.