Fe3O4@Au/polyaniline multifunctional nanocomposites: their preparation and optical, electrical and magneticproperties

Abstract

Fe3O4@Au/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites were fabricated by in situ polymerization in the presence ofmercaptocarboxylic acid. The mercaptocarboxylic acid was used to introduce hydrogenbonding and/or electrostatic interaction; it acts as a template in the formation ofFe3O4@Au/PANI nanorods. The morphology and structure of the resulting nanocomposites were analyzed byscanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and x-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy(EDS). It was found that the nanocomposites were rod-like with an average diameter of153 nm, and they exhibited a core–shell structure. A UV–visible spectrometer,semiconductor parameter analyzer and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM)were used to characterize the optical, electrical and magnetic properties of theFe3O4@Au/PANI nanocomposites. It was interesting to find that these properties are dependent on the molar ratio of Au toFe3O4 when themolar ratio of Fe3O4@Au to PANI is fixed. The magnetic property of theFe3O4@Au/PANI nanocomposite is very close to superparamagnetic behavior.