Carbon nanotubes/magnetite hybrids prepared by a facile synthesis process and their magnetic properties

In this paper, a facile synthesis process is proposed to prepare multiwalled carbon nanotubes/magnetite (MWCNTs/Fe3O4) hybrids. The process involves two steps: (1) water-soluble CNTs are synthesized by one-pot modification using potassium persulfate (KPS) as oxidant. (2) Fe3O4 is assembled along the treated CNTs by employing a facile hydrothermal process with the presence of hydrazine hydrate as the mineralizer. The treated CNTs can be easily dispersed in aqueous solvent. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveals that several functional groups such as potassium carboxylate (-COOK), carbonyl (-CO) and hydroxyl (-C-OH) groups are formed on the nanotube surfaces. The MWCNTs/Fe3O4 hybrids are characterized with respect to crystal structure, morphology, element composition and magnetic property by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), XPS and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. XRD and TEM results show that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with diameter in the range of 20-60 nm were firmly assembled on the nanotube surface. The magnetic property investigation indicated that the CNTs/Fe3O4 hybrids exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior and possess a saturation magnetization of 32.2 emu/g. Further investigation indicates that the size of assembled Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be turned by varying experiment factors. Moreover, a probable growth mechanism for the preparation of CNTs/Fe3O4 hybrids was discussed.