Fabrication and characterization of magnetic Fe3O4–CNT composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) decorated with magnetite nanoparticles on their external surface have been fabricated by in situ solvothermal method, which was conducted in benzene at 500 °C with ferrocene and CNTs as starting reagents. The as-prepared composites were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM. It has been found that the amount of magnetite nanoparticles deposited on the CNTs can be controlled by adjusting the initial mass ratio of ferrocene to CNTs. The Fe3O4–CNT composites display good ferromagnetic property at room temperature, with a saturation magnetization value (Ms) of 32.5 emu g−1 and a coercivity (Hc) of 110 Oe.