Synthesis of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanoparticles by combustion solution method and coating with polyethylene glycol

Nanoparticles have brought significant advantages in a wide range of fields due to their unique size-dependent physical and chemical properties. In this research, the combustion solution method is used to make La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) nanoparticles. Then the nanoparticles are covered with polyethylene glycol polymer. Due to the presence of hydrophilic molecular chains and high flexibility, polyethylene glycol is one of the most ideal coating agents to increase the colloidal stability and biocompatibility of LSMO nanoparticles. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), the crystal structure, nanoparticle size and nanoparticle composition of LSMO were investigated, and a hexagonal structure with a crystal size of 18.4 nm was observed. Field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to investigate the shape and size distribution of nanoparticles. The images showed that most of the grains are spherical with uniform distribution and the grain size in the processed sample is between 20 and 60 nm. The behavior of nanoparticles was estimated as ferromagnetic using Vibrating Sample Magnetic Analysis (VSM) and the saturation magnetization value before and after nanoparticle coating is 24.8 (emu/g) and 23.6 (emu/g), respectively. FTIR spectroscopy showed effective bonding between LSMO nanoparticles before and after treatment with polyethylene glycol.