Novel method for synthesis of magnetic Graphene Oxide and GO-Ferrocene/Nickleocene hybrids at room temperature using mechanical defects and insertion.

In this study, we report on the synthesis and magnetic properties of hybrid materials consisting of graphene oxide (GO) and ferrocene/nickleocene (Fc/Nc). The samples were prepared by a facile ball-milling process and characterized using various analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron paramagnetic ressonance (EPR), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Our results show that the GO-Fc/Nc hybrids exhibit ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, with magnetization values reaching as high as 3.0 emu/g. This is a significant improvement over previous attempts at ferromagnetic graphene, which have reported values of 0.2 emu/g or less at around 2K, and 5.5 emu/g at 62K [1]. The observed magnetism in our samples can be attributed to the formation of a spin-coupled network between the ferrocene or nickleocene molecules and graphene oxide sheets. The increase in magnetization with increasing milling time can be correlated with the enhanced homogenization and decreased particle size of the ferrocene/nickleocene molecules in the graphene oxide matrix. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the GO-Fc/Nc hybrids could potentially serve as a new class of molecular magnets with improved magnetic properties compared to metallocene sandwich compounds, which are currently the most popular candidates for molecular magnets [2][3]. Overall, our study provides new insights into the magnetic properties of graphene oxide hybrids and offers a promising route for the development of high-performance magnetic materials.