A magnetic polymer hybrid film (MPHF) with a thickness of ~80 μm, composed of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in a polystyrene (PS) matrix, was successfully prepared. Its structure and morphology were analyzed by HRTEM, XRD, and FTIR. The optical and magnetic behaviors were studied by UV–Vis spectroscopy and VSM, respectively. The main relaxation of the MPHF was characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and the molecular mobility was analyzed by a fractional Zener model (FZM). Results obtained by DMA reveal the mechanical manifestation of the α‐relaxation for both, PS and MPHF, and how this process is modified by IONPs into MPHFs. Good agreement between experimental DMA spectra and the theoretical results calculated from the FZM was obtained. Fractional parameters a and b characterize the molecular mobility at low and high temperatures, respectively. These results show that at low temperatures ( a parameter), molecular mobility is slightly affected by the presence of IONPs, while at high temperatures ( b parameter), molecular mobility is affected in a greater degree. IONPs decrease the molecular mobility of PS matrix; this effect is more pronounced at temperatures above the glass transition temperature. These results validate the effect of IONPs on PS matrix considering future applications of the MPHFs. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47840.

A smart composite material constituted of a magnetic hybrid film and a NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) ribbon was obtained and characterized. The magnetic hybrid film was joined to the NiTi ribbon in order to combine the properties of both materials. This new composite material combines magnetic properties of the hybrid film, (Fe₂O₃-CMC)/(polyvinyl butyral), and the shape memory properties of the NiTi ribbon, which has a chemical composition of Ti-50.13 at. % Ni. This smart composite material has a mass of 18.3% NiTi ribbon and 81.7% magnetic hybrid film. Results obtained by DSC show that the smart composite material presents a small delay of transformation during warming and cooling because the magnetic hybrid film acts like a thermal insulator. Thermomechanical results indicate that the hybrid material also acts as a mechanical reinforcement, since it is observed that the Stress-Assisted Two-Way Memory Effect (SATWME) of the smart composite is lower than the SATWME of the SMA ribbon. The density current values of phase transformations were clearly identified with a thermomechanical apparatus developed in our laboratory. Finally, displacements of the smart composite material in cantilever configuration are obtained by applying an external magnetic field. All these results demonstrate that the smart composite material can be activated by temperature, electrical current, stress, and/or magnetic field, offering good expectations for actuating applications with multiphysic transduction.

Dielectric and thermal properties of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) were studied in this work, using dynamic electrical analysis (DEA) at frequencies from 100 Hz to 1 MHz and temperatures from 293 K to 473 K. Two electrical relaxation processes were investigated: glass transition and interfacial polarization. Above the glass transition temperature (~343 K), interfacial polarization dominates conductive behavior in polyvinyl butyral. The framework of the complex electric modulus was used to obtain information about interfacial polarization. The viscoelastic behavior was analyzed through dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), where only the mechanical manifestation of the glass transition is observed. The experimental results from dielectric measurements were analyzed with fractional calculus, using a fractional Debye model with one cap-resistor. We were successful in applying the complex electric modulus because we had a good correlation between data and theoretical predictions. The fractional order derivative is an indicator of the energy dissipated in terms of molecular mobility, and the calculated values close to 1 suggest a conductive behavior at temperatures above the glass transition temperature of PVB.