One-Pot hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of FeS2(Pyrite)/graphene nanocomposite
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
This work reports on the investigation of temperature, reaction time, pH, concentration of graphene oxide (GO) and the effect of gelatin on the synthesis of pyrite structured FeS2 nanoparticles assembled on graphene nanosheets using a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. The results of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the simultaneous formation of pyrite structured FeS2 and the reduction of GO, yielding a nanocomposite of the materials, through the hydrothermal process. The systematic investigation shows that the nanocomposite, comprising a uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the surface of the graphene sheets, is easily synthesized, providing that certain reaction criteria are achieved. The condition warrants that the reaction is carried out in the presence of gelatin with a concentration of 1.5 wt./v in a pH of 11 at 200 °C for 24 h. Photocurrent response of the samples showed that the nanocomposite with the GO concentration of 1 mg/mL produced the highest photocurrent value of about 1.01 μA, which is about 2.6 times higher than that obtained by the pure FeS2.
Keywords
Gelatin, Graphene, Hydrothermal, Nanocomposite, Pyrite
Divisions
PHYSICS
Publication Title
Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume
218
Publisher
Elsevier
Additional Information
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA