Step-by-step synthesis of iron-oxide nanoparticles attached to graphene oxide: A study on the composite properties and architecture

Abstract

A set of nanocomposites made of iron oxide nanoparticles covalently bonded to graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide was successfully prepared. The synthesis was carried out in a precise step-by-step process in order to carefully control the nanocomposite formation. The nanocomposites were characterized by a range of techniques to verify the components arrangement according to the proposed strategy. Over the different samples, an in-depth study by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) and DC-Magnetometry was accomplished to analyze in detail the structure and properties of the systems. The results from this work indicate that the increase of the nanoparticle to graphene oxide ratio and the chemical reduction from graphene oxide to reduced graphene oxide modify the spatial distribution and the architecture of the nanoparticles over the sheets, leading to the formation of localized assemblies and bundle-like structures that have a significant impact on the macroscopicmagnetic behavior.