Synthesis and characterization of magnetically-active nickel-yttrium oxide (Ni-Y2O3) nanocomposite particles prepared with modified ultrasound spray pyrolysis device

Abstract The synthesis of magnetically-active nickel-yttrium oxide (Ni-Y 2 O 3 ) nanocomposite particles is described in this work. The investigated material is produced with a modified ultrasound spray pyrolysis (USP) device which differs from a common USP setup in terms of use of three independently heating zones. They provide a direct feed of H 2 to the second reaction zone and allow controlling the formation of the nanocomposite particles and facilitating their post-reaction stabilization with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). According to the morphological and structural studies, the Ni-Y 2 O 3 material takes a form of nanoparticles whose sizes are not homogeneously distributed as well as shapes are not smooth due to the successful formation of composite material with two interpenetrating phases. Moreover, the organic layer is detected on the surface of the nanoparticles which confirms the presence of PVP stabilizer. The magnetic investigations confirm that the Ni-Y 2 O 3 nanocomposite reveals a spin glass-like behavior in which a collective freezing of magnetic moments might occur due to the interparticle interactions between Ni nanocrystallites presented in the sample.