Preparation and characterization of superparamagnetic graphene oxide nanohybrids anchored with Fe3O4 nanoparticles

• A new method for fabrication of GPO–Fe3O4 nanostructured hybrid was demonstrated.
• The FT-IR analysis of nanohybrid shows infrared peaks characteristic of amide link.
• EDX spectrum shows intense peaks for Iron along with carbon and oxygen peaks.
• SEM images confirm the presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the GPO surface.
• This nanohybrid is a potential material for electromagnetic devices and biomedicine.

We describe a novel method for the preparation of a graphene oxide (GPO) – magnetic nanoparticle (Fe3O4) (GPO–Fe3O4) nanostructured hybrids by a simple and effective method. In this method, the fabrication of multi-component nanostructure system involves covalent attachment of GPO with Fe3O4 through dopamine (do) (GPO–do-Fe3O4). Optical microscopy (OM), ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to demonstrate the successful attachment of Fe3O4 to GPO. It was found that the fabricated nanohybrid shows superparamagnetic behavior and allows rapid separation under an external-magnetic field. The FT-IR analysis of GPO–do-Fe3O4 nanohybrid shows infrared (IR) peaks characteristic of amide (CONH) link on the surface of GPO. TGA analysis clearly shows two major stages of thermal degradation, different from the pattern of observed for dopamine coated Fe3O4 surface. An EDX spectrum of GPO–do-Fe3O4 shows intense peaks for Iron (Fe) along with carbon and oxygen peaks. SEM images further support the FT-IR and TGA results and confirm the presence of Fe3O4 on GPO surface. Thus, the resultant GPO–do-Fe3O4 nanohybrid system carries both electrical and magnetic properties, which are important for applications ranging from electro-magnetic devices to biomedicine.

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