TurboBeads / Polymer hybrid material

Metals and polymers do not mix well, which makes the formation of magnet/polymer nanocomposites impossible. Luechinger et al. showed in their work that the application of an ultrathin graphene like carbon layer to a metal core nanoparticle drastically increases its mixing capability with polymers. In detail, this work describes the dispersion of carbon coated TurboBeads into poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymers. The resulting magnetic system is of special interest for injection molding and the work shows that a magnetic motor core could be formed from the polymeric material.

Luechinger et al. Adv. Mater. 2008 (link)