Infrared heating mediated synthesis and characterization of FeCo/C nanocomposites

Metal-filled carbon nanocomposites containing 20wt% of metallic FeCo nanoparticles were synthesized by means of infrared heating of precursors (polyacrylonitrile – iron acetylacetonate - cobalt acetate). This fabrication approach shows promise for making radiation-absorbent materials in short one-step process with ability to control the size of nanoparticles and attune the composition of the metallic components. In this work the magnetic behavior of reaction products obtained at different stages of the synthesis have been investigated in detail. We report on the influence of the annealing temperature on evolution of the structure, chemical composition, size, surface morphology, spontaneous magnetization and coercivity of the FeCo nanoparticles. •A method of preparation of FeCo metal-filled carbon nanocomposites was proposed.•Proposed method is based on infrared heating of the precursors.•This technique excels at up scaling and the ability to control the particle size.•Usage of IR radiation leads to significant reduction of process time and temperature.•The influence of the synthesis parameters on physical properties was studied. [Display omitted]