Effect of PVA, PVP, and PEG encapsulation on the microstructural properties of nickel ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

Nickel ferrite was enclosed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) using sol-gel synthesis at room temperature. The research investigates the crystalline structure, surface morphology and the Fourier transform of the nanoparticles. The analyzed nanocrystals show that the infusion of the polymers reduced the crystallized sizes of the nickel ferrite
nanoparticles from 20.0nm to 14.6nm, 11.5nm and 11.6 nm for PVA, PVP and PEG respectively. The SEM results depict that the effect of PEG was more pronounced as it was well embedded in the nanostructure of nickel ferrite. The Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy confirmed the presence of iron and nickel elements. Furthermore, all the results analyzed confirmed the nanoparticles' stability and
enhanced potential applications in drug delivery and environmental remediation.