Altering the structure and properties of iron oxide nanoparticles and graphene oxide/iron oxide composites by urea

Abstract

Iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles were grown on graphene oxide (GO) using a simple microwave-assisted method. The effects of urea concentration on Fe2O3 nanoparticles and GO/Fe2O3 composite were examined. The as-prepared samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The Fe2O3 nanoparticles were uniformly developed on GO sheets. The results showed that urea affects both Fe2O3 morphology and particle size. In the absence of urea, the Fe2O3 nanostructures exhibited a rod-like morphology. However, increasing urea concentration altered the morphology and decreased the particle size. The Raman results of GO/Fe2O3 showed that the intensity ratio of D band to G band (ID/IG) 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/Fe2O3 and Fe2O3 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 Fe2O3 nanoparticles. However, the increase in urea concentration led to decreased thermal stability of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The magnetic properties of Fe2O3 nanoparticles were characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer and results revealed that the magnetic properties of Fe2O3 nanoparticles are affected by the morphology.