Fabrication of Fe3O4@reduced graphene oxide composite via novel colloid electrostatic self-assembly process for removal of contaminants from water

In this work, a facile and delicate method was used to fabricate functional graphene-based nanocomposite material, Fe3O4@reduced graphene oxide composite (FGNC), triggered by the pre-designed colloid electrostatic self-assembly between the positively charged Fe(OH)(3) colloid nanoparticles and the negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. Imaged by SEM and TEM, irregular spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticles with diameters of 10-20 nm were dispersed and loaded uniformly onto the surfaces of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. The identity of FGNC was further proved by FT-IR, Raman, XRD, and XPS analysis. Moreover, because of the excellent behavior of the simulated removal of organic contaminant (rhodamine B) or inorganic contaminant (As(V)) from water, FGNC displayed good application prospects in waste water treatment.