One-step synthesis of magnetically-functionalized reduced graphite sheets and their use in hydrogels

Graphene/Fe3O4 hybrids were prepared using a one-step solvothermal method in ethylene glycol using graphite oxide as the graphene precursor and FeCl3·6H2O as the Fe3O4 precursor. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles, with a diameter of 100–200 nm, were densely and randomly deposited on the graphene sheets. The electrical conductivity of the hybrid reached 1.011 × 102 S m−1 and the saturation magnetization reached 83.6 emu g−1. The as-prepared magnetically-functionalized graphene hybrid was used for the functionalization of hydrogels for the first time.