A Facile Route towards the Synthesis of Fe3O4/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites for Environmental Applications

A simple approach for preparing Fe₃O₄/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites through electrostatic self-assembly and their utilization in dye removal from aqueous media were investigated. Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by adding 1:2 ratio of Fe⁺²/Fe⁺³ to an aqueous solution, maintained in an inert atmosphere at a high pH. With the highly hydrophilic graphene oxide sheets and positively charged surface of the Fe₃O₄nanoparticles, the nanocomposites were synthesized through electrostatic interaction in aqueous solutions. The nanocomposites were characterized by TEM, XRD, FT-IR, and UV-Vis. The adsorption properties of the Fe₃O₄/GO nanocomposites toward Congo Red as an anionic dye and Methylene Blue as a cationic dye in aqueous solutions were investigated.

Keywords

• Graphene oxide,
• Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticle,
• electrostatic self-assembly,
• adsorption,
• dyes