Facile synthesis of Au@Fe3O4–graphene and Pt@Fe3O4–graphene ternary hybrid nanomaterials and their catalytic properties

Abstract

Graphene-based sheets that possess a unique nanostructure and a variety of fascinating properties are appealing as promising nanoscale building blocks of new composites. Herein, we present a general and effective approach for the preparation of metal oxide–graphene (metal oxide–G, metal oxide = Fe3O4, ZnO and Cu2O) by in situ nucleation and growth of metal oxide on the surface of graphene in tetraethylene glycol (TEG) solution. TEG, a nontoxic and environmentally friendly agent, acts as both solvent and reductant. Furthermore, the Fe3O4–G was employed as a two dimensional support for loading noble metal nanoparticles (Au or Pt) to synthesize Au@Fe3O4–G and Pt@Fe3O4–G ternary hybrid materials. The as-obtained Au@Fe3O4–G exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol by NaBH4, and the Pt@Fe3O4–G showed remarkable electrocatalytic performance for hydrazine oxidation. We believe that the hybrid catalysts fabricated by this simple, efficient method have great potential for applications in other fields, such as electrochemical energy storage, sensors, and so on.