Incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles into polytartaric acid as a key for enhancing thermal conductivity

This work set out to investigate how different concentrations and sizes of iron oxide magnetite nanoparticles affected the augmentation of thermal conductivity of a neoteric polytartaric acid crosslinked by 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI). Various synthesis techniques, such as coprecipitation, oxidation of Fe(II) ions, and breakdown procedures, were employed to produce the magnetic nanoparticles. The structural and morphological features of the hitherto unknown crosslinked polytartaric acids were investigated using solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ss-NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Magnetic composites were obtained by crosslinking polytartaric acid with HMDI in the presence of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles. Their structural properties were investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. Additionally, the study delved into the magnetic measurements of these composites, which revealed superparamagnetic properties. The thermogravimetric analysis assessed the thermal stability of crosslinked polytartaric acid and its magnetic composites. The zeta potentials of crosslinked polytartaric acid and its magnetic composites turned out to be similar. The study also employed the transient plane source method to measure the through-plane thermal conductivity and diffusivity. As a result, the magnetic composite, based on crosslinked neoteric polytartaric acid and magnetic nanoparticles fillers synthesized by the decomposition method, exhibited a remarkable thermal conductivity of up to 0.8 W/(mK) at 50 wt% filler loading i.e. an increase of 515 %. • Tailoring MNP to influence the thermal conductivity of crosslinked polytartaric acid. • Novel crosslinked polytartaric acid with spheric morphology. • MNP embedded in polymer matrices increases the thermal conductivity by 515 %. • Medium-sized MNP added to polytartaric acid helps dissipate heat easily.