American Chemical Society, Journal of Physical Chemistry B (Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysical Chemistry), 46(112), p. 14461-14469, 2008
DOI: 10.1021/jp802879a
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Loading of graphite oxide (GO) with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) iron(II) ions and subsequent calcination affords a novel graphene-based composite with magnetic and electrically conductive properties. The pH of the starting aqueous suspension and the washing procedure play a crucial role in the successful immobilization of the iron precursor, which is mainly governed by ion exchange. The complex is intercalated between the graphene oxide layers, where it adopts a distorted conformation. Rapid heating of this solid results in the deflagration of GO and the formation of ultrafine ( d = 2-14 nm) Fe2O3 particles with maghemite as the dominant phase. The superparamagnetic maghemite crystals are dispersed uniformly in the high-surface-area diamagnetic matrix built up from single or turbostratic stacked graphenes.