In situgrowth of FeNi alloy nanoflowers on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets and their magnetic properties

Abstract

FeNi alloy nanoflowers were evenly grown on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets by the reduction of Fe²⁺ and Ni²⁺ with hydrazine in an ethylene glycol (EG) dispersion of graphene oxide (GO), and the as-synthesized products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was revealed that the morphology, size and composition of the FeNi alloy nanoparticles on the RGO nanosheets can be well controlled by adjusting synthesis parameters such as the concentration and the molar ratio of the metal ions. Through directed-flow assembly of the obtained composite materials, RGO-based magnetic papers were obtained. The RGO-FeNi alloy composites had soft magnetic characteristics and showed interesting morphology and composition dependent magnetic properties.