Abstract
Iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles were grown on graphene oxide (GO) using a simple microwave-assisted method. The effects of urea concentration on Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles and GO/Fe 2 O 3 composite were examined. The as-prepared samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles were uniformly developed on GO sheets. The results showed that urea affects both Fe 2 O 3 morphology and particle size. In the absence of urea, the Fe 2 O 3 nanostructures exhibited a rod-like morphology. However, increasing urea concentration altered the morphology and decreased the particle size. The Raman results of GO/Fe 2 O 3 showed that the intensity ratio of D band to G band (I D /I G ) was decreased by addition of urea, indicating that urea can preserve the GO sheets during synthesis of the composite from exposing more defects. The surface area and thermal stability of GO/Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 were compared using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method and thermal gravimetric analysis, respectively. The results showed that the increased concentration of urea induced a larger surface area with more active sites in the Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles. However, the increase in urea concentration led to decreased thermal stability of the Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles. The magnetic properties of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles were characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer and results revealed that the magnetic properties of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles are affected by the morphology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 686-693 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Applied Surface Science |
| Volume | 364 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Composite
- Hematite
- Maghemite
- Morphology
- Nanoparticle
- Urea