One-pot synthesis of Ag-iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite via hydrothermal treatment

A multifunctional silver-iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide (Ag-Fe3O4/RGO) nanocomposite was prepared by facile, green and one-pot synthesis using hydrothermal treatment of aqueous solution containing graphene oxide (GO), iron(II) chloride tetrahydrate, silver nitrate, and ethanol. This aqueous solution was heated at 130 °C for 3 h where simultaneous reduction of GO and crystallization of metal and metal oxide NPs was simply carried out. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infra-red, Raman, and X-ray diffraction indicated the formation of Ag-Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposite. The catalytic activity and antibacterial capacity of nanocomposite were studied by reduction of 4-nitrophenol and destruction of Escherichia coli, respectively. Results indicated that as-synthesized nanocomposite has high catalytic and antibacterial capacity with good reusability. Therefore, the obtained nanocomposite from this facile one-pot synthesis method exhibit great potential in environmental remediation.