One-pot solvothermal syntheses and magnetic properties of graphene-based magnetic nanocomposites

In this study, graphene-based magnetic nanocomposites (graphene/Fe3O4 and graphene oxide/Fe3O4) have been prepared via a facile and effective one-pot solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy were used to demonstrate the successful attachment of Fe3O4 nanoparticles to graphene and graphene oxide sheets. It is shown that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a size of ca. 60 nm were well spread out on the graphene and graphene oxide sheets, respectively. The thermal stability of the nanocomposites was investigated by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. Magnetic studies reveal a superparamagnetic behavior of the graphene/Fe3O4 nanocomposites, which make it promising for practical applications in future bio-nanotechnology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.