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Nanocomposite films based on spinel ferrite (Mg0.8Zn0.2Fe1.5Al0.5O4) in a PVA matrix were obtained. An increase in the spinel concentration to 10 wt.% caused an avalanche-like rise in roughness due to the formation of nanoparticle agglomerates. The lateral mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) allowed us to trace the agglomeration dynamics. An unexpected result was that the composite with 6 wt.% of filler had a low friction coefficient in comparison with similar composites due to the successfully combined effects of low roughness and surface energy. The friction coefficient decreased to 0.07 when the friction coefficient of pure PVA was 0.72. A specially developed method for measuring nano-objects’ surface energy using AFM made it possible to explain the anomalous nature of the change in tribological characteristics. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. National University of Science and Technology, MISIS Alex V. Trukhanov thanks NUST MISIS for support within the framework of the «Priority 2030».

Using the auto combustion flash method, Ni1−x+2 Mg+2xFe+32O4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) nano-ferrites were synthesized. All samples were thermally treated at 973 K for 3 h. The structural analysis for the synthesized samples was performed using XRD, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and FTIR. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was undertaken to explore the surface morphology of all the samples. The thermal stability of these samples was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD data show the presence of a single spinel phase for all the prepared samples. The intensity of the principal peak of the spinel phase decreases as Mg content increases, showing that Mg delays crystallinity. The Mg content raised the average grain size (D) from 0.084 µm to 0.1365 µm. TGA shows two stages of weight loss variation. The vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measurement shows that magnetic parameters, such as initial permeability (µi) and saturation magnetization (Ms), decay with rising Mg content. The permeability and magnetic anisotropy at different frequencies and temperatures were studied to show the samples’ magnetic behavior and determine the Curie temperature (TC), which depends on the internal structure. The electrical resistivity behavior shows the semi-conductivity trend of the samples. Finally, the dielectric constant increases sharply at high temperatures, explained by the increased mobility of charge carriers, and decreases with increasing frequency. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, PNU: PNURSP2022R28 The authors express their gratitude to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R28), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.