Historical Perspective
Iron oxides/graphene hybrid structures – Preparation, modification, and application as fillers of polymer composites

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2020.102285Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Synthesis method, surface modification and properties of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles are summarized.

  • Preparation, properties and applications of hybrids iron oxides/graphene structures are discussed.

  • Development in design of polymer composites with iron/graphene hybrid fillers are presented.

  • Synergistic effects of individual components of hybrid fillers on composites properties are proven.

Abstract

The current status of knowledge regarding magnetic hybrid structures based on graphene or carbon nanotubes with various forms of iron oxides is reviewed. The paper starts with a summary of the preparation and properties of iron oxide nanoparticles, both untreated and coated with silica or polymer layers. In the next section, organic-inorganic hybrid materials obtained as a result of a combination of graphene or carbon nanotubes and iron chemical compounds are characterized and discussed. These hybrids constitute an increasing percentage of all consumable high performance biomedical, electronic, and energy materials due to their valuable properties and low production costs. The potential of their application as components of materials used in corrosion protection, catalysis, spintronics, biomedicine, photoelectrochemical water splitting and groundwater remediation, as well as magnetic nanoparticles in polymer matrices, are also presented. The last part of this review article is focused on reporting the most recent developments in design and the understanding of the properties of polymer composites reinforced with nanometer-sized iron oxide/graphene and iron oxide/carbon nanotubes hybrid fillers. The discussion presents comparative analysis of the magnetic, electromagnetic shielding, electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of polymer composites with various iron oxide/graphene structures. It is shown that the introduction of hybrid filler nanoparticles into polymer matrices enhances both the macro- and microproperties of final composites as a result of synergistic effects of individual components and the simultaneous formation of an oriented filler network in the polymer. The reinforcing effect is related to the structure and geometry of hybrid nanoparticles applied as a filler, the interactions between the filler particles, their concentration in a composite, and the method of composite processing.

Section snippets

Introduction - iron oxide nanoparticles

Iron is the most widespread metal on the Earth, and has great significance for all living beings [1]. It is a highly reactive, easily oxidized metal, also being one of the naturally magnetic elements. Several crystalline forms of iron oxide (IO) are known with the most common being hematite (Fe2O3) that contains 70 mass% of iron, magnetite (Fe3O4) with 72 mass% of iron, and wüstite (FeO) with 78 mass% of iron [2,3]. The wide spectrum of the various crystalline forms of IOs allows for a wide

Methods of modification of iron oxide nanoparticles

IO NPs are characterized by a very high chemical activity and are particularly easy to oxidize. Together with their high tendency for agglomeration the deterioration of magnetic properties the IO NPs is observed. Above features are not desirable in various applications, especially in biomedical fields [[45], [46], [47]], materials science [48], sensors [26,49], etc. The most effective way to improve the dispersion stability and surface protection as well as to prevent spontaneous agglomeration

Polymer nanocomposites with iron oxide nanoparticles

IO NPs, due to their superparamagnetic properties, are considered as an interesting nanofiller to make composites using a large spectrum of polymers as a matrix. Different applications of these composites, such as magnetic fluids, biosynthesis, biomedical applications, drug delivery systems, electromagnetic shielding materials, adsorbents of toxic substances or as a catalyst in solid propellants [126,127] are described.

Polymer composites with magnetic IO NPs are widely used in biosynthesis.

Summary and perspectives

Functional hybrid organic-inorganic materials are combinations of frequently occurring nano-scale inorganic and organic active components. In order to obtain valuable application materials, it is necessary to modify their structure using additional components (polymers, silica, other inorganic substances) that are capable of selective interactions with specific chemical compounds. This new group of materials with defined properties, produced in highly-effective chemical reactions, opens up new

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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