Magneto-optical investigation and hyperfine interactions of copper substituted Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Copper substituted Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) (Cu_xFe_1−xFe₂O₄ (0.0≤x≤1.0)) were synthesized by polyol method and the effect of Cu²⁺ substitution on structural, magnetic and optical properties of Fe₃O₄ was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Visible spectroscopy and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were used to study the physical properties of the products. The room temperature (RT) magnetization (σ–H) curves revealed the superparamagnetic nature of the products. The extrapolated specific saturation magnetization (σ_s) decreases from 42.69 emu/g to 14.14 emu/g with increasing Cu content (x). The particle size dependent Langevin fit studies were applied to determine the magnetic particle dimensions (D_mag). The average magnetic particle diameter is about 9.89 nm. The observed magnetic moments of NPs are in range of (0.61–1.77) µ_B and rather less than 4 µ_B of bulk Fe₃O₄ and 1 µ_B of bulk CuFe₂O₄. Magnetic anisotropy was assigned as uniaxial and calculated effective anisotropy constants (K_eff) are between 10.89×10⁴ Erg/g and 26.95×10⁴ Erg/g. The average value of magnetically inactive layer for Cu_xFe_1−xFe₂O₄ NPs was calculated as 1.23 nm. The percent diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DR%) and Kubelka–Munk theory were applied to determine the energy band gap (E_g) of NPs. The extrapolated optical E_g values from Tauc plots are between minimum 1.98 eV to 2.31 eV. From 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy data, the variation in line width, isomer splitting, quadrupole splitting and hyperfine magnetic field values on Cu⁺² ion substitution have been determined. Although, the Mössbauer spectra for the sample x=0.2 and 0.8 are composed of paramagnetic doublets, ferromagnetic sextets were also formed for other products.     

Synthesis,characterization of Fe3O4@glycine doped polypyrrole magnetic nanocomposites and their potential performance to remove toxic Cr(VI)

Fe₃O₄ coated glycine doped polypyrrole magnetic nanocomposite (Fe₃O₄@gly-PPy NC) was prepared via coating of suspended Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with gly-PPy. FE-SEM and HR-TEM images indicated that Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were encapsulated by precipitating gly-PPy moieties. Chromium(VI) adsorption followed a Langmuir isotherm with maximum capacity of 238–303 mg/g for a temperature range of 25–45 °C at pH 2. The adsorption process was governed by the ionic interaction and the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by the PPy moiety. Results showed that NCs are effective adsorbents for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater and can be separated by external magnetic field from the reactor.     

High-temperature conductivity,stability and redox properties of Fe3−xAlxO4 spinel-type materials

Iron-based oxides are considered as promising consumable anode materials for high temperature pyroelectrolysis. Phase relationships, redox stability and electrical conductivity of Fe_3?xAl_xO₄ spinels were studied at 300–1773 K and p(O₂) from 10^?5 to 0.21 atm. Thermogravimetry/XRD analysis revealed metastability of the sintered ceramics at 300–1300 K. Low tolerance against oxidation leads to dimensional changes of ceramics upon thermal cycling. Activation energies of the total conductivity corresponded to the range of 16–26 kJ/mol at 1450–1773 K in Ar atmosphere. At 1573–1773 K and p(O₂) ranging from 10^?5 to 0.03 atm, the total conductivity of Fe_3?xAl_xO₄ is nearly independent of the oxygen partial pressure. The conductivity values of Fe_3?xAl_xO₄ (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) at 1773 K and p(O₂) ～10^?5 to 10^?4 atm were found to be only 1.1–1.5 times lower than for Fe₃O₄, showing high potential of moderate aluminium additions as a strategy for improvement of refractoriness for magnetite without significant deterioration of electronic transport.     

Study on orientation in EVA/Fe3O4 composite hot-melt adhesives

EVA hot melt adhesives have tackiness to both external anticorrosion coating made by cross-linked polyethylene and iron-base petroleum pipeline. But, traditional EVA hot melt adhesives cannot meet the requirement of external anticorrosion coating for weaker tackiness. Two types of Fe₃O₄ particles with different particle sizes and magnetic strengths were added in adhesives. One is of 3.665 μm^{Laser particle size analyzer (LPSA)} and 8.403×10¹ emu/g^{vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM)} and the other one is of 0.426 μm^LPSA and 3.997×10¹ emu/g^VSM. The result of peel test indicated that peel strength of composite adhesives increased as Fe₃O₄ content increased when particles size was 3.665 μm^LPSA but the tackiness of composite adhesive decreased as Fe₃O₄ content increased when particles size was 0.426 μm^LPSA. Also, microphotos of SEM revealed that the composite adhesive with 3.665 μm^LPSA Fe₃O₄ was more likely to distribute in a region near the tackiness surface between the adhesive and iron layers, but the one with 0.426 μm^LPSA Fe₃O₄ was more likely to aggregate in the middle region of adhesive. The movement of 3.665 μm^LPSA Fe₃O₄ particles could induce EVA molar chain orientation and this orientation was confirmed by infrared dichroism and XRD. Results of infrared dichroism and XRD showed that the orientation degree of EVA increased as 3.665 μm^LPSA Fe₃O₄ content increased. Furthermore, crystallinity tests by XRD and DSC indicated that crystallinity of PE segment of EVA also increased as 3.665 μm^LPSA Fe₃O₄ content increased, which could support increase of orientation tested by infrared dichroism and XRD.     

Dielectric and magnetoelectric properties of BaTiO3–Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4 composite

In this paper we studied the structural, dielectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of (x)BaTiO₃–(1 ? x)Co_0.6Zn_0.4Fe_1.7Mn_0.3O₄ particulate composite series where x = 0.50, 0.60 and 0.70. BaTiO₃–Co_0.6Zn_0.4Fe_1.7Mn_0.3O₄ composite has the advantage of being non-toxic and environmental friendly from the point of view of device fabrication. High ME voltage coefficients were obtained in the whole series with the highest value of α_E ～ 73 mV/cm Oe achieved in sample x = 0.50 containing equal mole fractions of both the component phases. This value of α_E is an order of magnitude higher than that of particulate sintered BaTiO₃–CoFe₂O₄ composites (～2–4 mV/cm Oe). Dielectric characteristics for these samples indicated two anomalies: (i) one at low temperature close to ferroelectric to paraelectric transition temperature of pure BaTiO₃ and (ii) another at higher temperature related to the magnetic transition in ferrite, a characteristic dielectric feature of composite sample.     

Hollow polyaniline/Fe3O4 microsphere composites: Preparation,characterization, and applications in microwave absorption

Hollow polyaniline/Fe₃O₄ microsphere composites with electromagnetic properties were successfully prepared by decorating the surface of hollow polyaniline/sulfonated polystyrene microspheres with various amounts of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles using sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) as hard templates and then removing the templates with tetrahydrofuran (THF). The synthesized hollow microsphere composites were characterized by FT-IR, UV/Vis spectrophotometry, SEM, XRD, elemental analysis, TGA, and measurement of their magnetic parameters. Experimental results indicated that the microspheres were well-defined in size (1.50–1.80 μm) and shape, and that they were superparamagnetic with maximum saturation magnetization values of 3.88 emu/g with a 12.37 wt% content of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles. Measurements of the electromagnetic parameters of the samples showed that the maximum bandwidth was 8.0 GHz over ?10 dB of reflection loss in the 2–18 GHz range when the Fe₃O₄ content in the hollow polyaniline/Fe₃O₄ microsphere composites was 7.33 wt%.     

Sol-gel synthesis of MnxGa1−xFe2O4 nanoparticles as candidates for hyperthermia treatment

Sol-gel synthesis of novel Mn_xGa_1−xFe₂O₄ (x=0–1) magnetic nanoparticles (MNP's) was studied. An inverse spinel crystalline structure was identified for all samples. Magnetization saturation values (Ms) were in the range of 21.4–42.6 emu/g, while coercive field (Hc) was less than 27.4 Oe in all cases. Selected compositions of Mn_xGa_1−xFe₂O₄ (x=0.6, 0.8) showed nanoparticles with near-spherical morphology and average size of 15 nm. Magnetic induction curves indicate that a suspension concentration of MNP's equal or higher than 4.5 mg/mL was sufficient to reach the temperature required for hyperthermia treatment (>43 °C) in less than 10 min. The incorporation of Mn ions into the crystalline structure led to an increase of the magnetic response of the MNP's when an alternate magnetic field was applied, requiring a shorter time of exposition and a low dose of MNP's, which make these nanoparticles potential candidates for magnetic hyperthermia.     

Microstructure and microwave-frequency electromagnetic properties of Ni0.4Zn0.6Fe2O4/Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 composites

(x)Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄+(1−x)Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ composite ceramics with x=0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 and 1 were synthesized by solid state reaction method. The high dense composites have only two phases, i.e., Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ and Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃. The permittivity ε′ of the composites decreases slightly with the frequency increasing from 3 MHz to 1 GHz. The permittivity ε′′ of the composites also shows a little increase with frequency in the 3 MHz–1 GHz range. The permeability displays a relaxation resonance within the 3 MHz–1 GHz frequency range. The permeability μ′ increases while the cut-off frequency decreases with the Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ concentration, obeying the Snoek's law μ_if_r=constant. The permittivity ε′ of the composites decreases with Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ concentration. The composites have a relatively higher ε′ than the pure Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ at 1–10 GHz. In the frequency range of 1–10 GHz, the magnetic permeability μ′ reaches its maximum and μ′′ shows a minimum for the composite with x=0.6 in all ceramics. The permeability μ′ of the composites decreases with dc magnetic field at 1–10 GHz. The permeability shows a domain wall resonance, and the resonance frequency shifts to high frequency with the dc magnetic field. The permittivity was also influenced by the dc magnetic field due to a magnetodielectric effect.     

A new multiferroic ternary solid solution system: NdFeO3–Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3–PbTiO3

Ceramic materials were sintered from powders of the NdFeO₃–Pb(Fe_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃–PbTiO₃ (NF–PFN–PT) ternary system synthesized by the conventional solid reaction method and their multiferroic properties investigated. The structure, electric and magnetic properties of the ternary system have been investigated. The introduction of Pb(Fe_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ into the NdFeO₃–PbTiO₃ binary system can effectively increase its electric properties. The ternary system exhibits enhanced piezoelectric property with optimal piezoelectric constants d₃₃=143 pC/N, reduced coercive fields E_C=5.78 kV/cm and remnant polarization P_r=12.8 μC/cm² for 0.10NF–0.56PFN–0.34PT, near tetragonal phase region. The Curie temperature (T_C) of the NdFeO₃–Pb(Fe_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃–PbTiO₃ ceramics varies in the range from 108.7 °C to 67.9 °C. The magnetic hysteresis loops show that the ternary system is paramagnetic originating from canting of paramagnetic sublattices in NF–PFN–PT, due to the rare earth ions Nd³⁺ influencing on the exchange interaction between Fe³⁺ ions at the octahedral sites.     

Fabrication of graphene nanosheet (GNS)–Fe3O4 hybrids and GNS–Fe3O4/syndiotactic polystyrene composites with high dielectric permittivity

Graphene nanosheet–Fe₃O₄ (GNS–Fe₃O₄) hybrids were obtained by a one-step solvothermal reduction of iron (III) acetylacetonate [Fe(acac)₃] and graphene oxide (GO) simultaneously, which had several advantages: (1) the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were firmly anchored on GNS surface even after mild ultrasonication; (2) the loading amount of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles could be effectively controlled by changing the initial feeding weight ratio of Fe(acac)₃ to GO; (3) the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on the GNS surface without much aggregation. Composites based on syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) and GNS–Fe₃O₄ were prepared by a solution-blending method and the electric and dielectric properties of the resultant GNS–Fe₃O₄/sPS composites were investigated. The percolation threshold of GNS–Fe₃O₄ in the sPS matrix was determined to be 9.41 vol.%. Slightly above the percolation threshold with 9.59 vol.% of GNS–Fe₃O₄, the GNS–Fe₃O₄/sPS composite showed a high dielectric permittivity of 123 at 1000 Hz, which was 42 times higher than that of pure sPS. The AC electrical conductivity at 1000 Hz increased from 3.6 × 10⁻¹⁰ S/m for pure sPS to 2.82 × 10⁻⁴ S/m for GNS–Fe₃O₄/sPS composite containing 10.69 vol.% of GNS–Fe₃O₄, showing an obvious insulator-semiconductor transition.     

Synthesis and characterization of magnetic polyHIPEs with humic acid surface modified magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Magnetic macroporous polymer monoliths have been prepared using styrene/divinylbenzene (S/DVB) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) as templates. Humic acid surface modified iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@HA) have been used to prepare magnetic emulsion templates. The effect of magnetic particle concentration has been investigated by changing the ratio of Fe₃O₄@HA nanoparticles in the continuous phase. Highly macroporous polymers with magnetic response were obtained by the removal of the internal phase after the curing of emulsions at 80 °C. Fe₃O₄@HA particles were characterized by XRD and FTIR. The porosity, pore morphology and magnetic properties of the macroporous polymers were characterized as a function of the Fe₃O₄@HA concentration by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) molecular adsorption method and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), respectively. BET and VSM measurements demonstrated that the specific surface area and the saturation magnetization of the polymer monoliths were changed according to the Fe₃O₄@HA concentration between 8.77–35.08 m² g^?1 and 0.63–11.79 emu g^?1, respectively. Resulting magnetic monoliths were tested on the adsorption of Hg(II) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used to calculate the adsorption capacities. The maximum adsorption capacity of the magnetic monoliths was calculated to be 20.44 mmol g^?1 at pH 4.     

Immobilization of Aspergillus niger xylanase A on Fe3O4-coated chitosan magnetic nanoparticles for xylooligosaccharide preparation

Aspergillus niger xylanase A (XylA) was immobilized onto Fe₃O₄-coated chitosan magnetic nanoparticles prepared by the layer-by-layer self-assembly approach. The Fe₃O₄-coated chitosan magnetic nanoparticles showed a high binding capacity of 162.2 mg ∙ g^− 1-particles and a recovery activity of 56.5% for XylA. The immobilized XylA showed improved thermostability and storage stability compared with free XylA. The immobilized XylA retained 87.5% activity after seven successive reactions by magnetic separation. Xylotriose and xylohexaose were the main products released from birchwood xylan and wheat bran insoluble xylan by immobilized XylA, respectively.     

Remarkable effect of Co and Mn on the activity of Fe3 − xMxO4 promoted oxidation of organic contaminants in aqueous medium with H2O2

In this work substituted magnetites Fe_3 − xMn_xO₄ (x=0.21, 0.26 and 0.53), Fe_3 − xCo_xO₄ (x=0;0.19;0.38;0.75) and Fe_3 − xNi_xO₄ (x=0;0.10;0.28;0.54) have been used to promote two different reactions involving H₂O₂: (i) the oxidation of organic molecules namely phenol, hydroquinone and methylene blue dye in aqueous medium and (ii) the peroxide decomposition to O₂. The presence of Co or Mn in the magnetite structure strongly increased the rate of H₂O₂ decomposition and the oxidation of the organic molecules whereas the presence of Ni inhibited both reactions. Kinetic data and CEMS Mössbauer spectroscopy suggest that the H₂O₂ decomposition and the organic oxidation are competitive reactions involving oxidizing species generated by surface M²⁺ (M=Fe, Co or Mn).     

Effect of core-shell reversal on the structural,magnetic and adsorptive properties of Fe2O3-GO nanocomposites

Effect of core-shell reversal on the nanocomposites of graphene oxide (GO) and ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) was studied. Fe₂O₃@GO core-shell nanosheets were synthesized by sonication method, while the GO@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanospheres by employing N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodimide as the binding agent for the wrapping of GO sheets on pre-formed Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (NPs). The phase composition, crystallinity and morphology of the nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, TEM, SEM-EDS, VSM, BET surface area study and XRD techniques. The saturation magnetization (M_s) was 1.25 and 0.51 emu g⁻¹ for GO@Fe₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃@GO respectively owing to the dependence of magnetic properties on the reversal of core-shell. BET analysis revealed the surface area of 100.32 m² g⁻¹ and 45.69 m² g⁻¹ for GO@Fe₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃@GO nanocomposites respectively. The fabricated nanocomposites were analyzed as adsorbents for the uptake of Pb (II) ions. The impact of various factors affecting adsorption process such as pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, temperature and metal ion concentration was also investigated. GO@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanospheres showed a higher adsorption capacity for Pb (II) ions as compared to Fe₂O₃@GO core-shell nanosheet with the maximum adsorption capacities (q_m) of 303.0 and 125.0 mg g⁻¹ respectively. The equilibrium data was estimated by Freundlich, Langmuir, D-R and Temkin isotherm models. Thermodynamic analysis confirmed the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics was significantly fitted to pseudo-second order model. The results confirmed that core-shell reversal can significantly alter the adsorptive properties of Fe₂O₃-GO nanocomposite     

Heat generation properties in AC magnetic field for Y3Fe5O12 powder material synthesized by a reverse coprecipitation method

Ferrimagnetic Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ powder was synthesized by a reverse coprecipitation method in order to study its heat generation property in an AC magnetic field. An orthorhombic YFeO₃ phase having a small particle size (<100 nm) was obtained for the samples calcined at a low temperature. The maximum heat generation ability in an AC magnetic field was obtained for the Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ ferrite powder by calcination at 1100 °C. The heat generation ability was reduced for the samples calcined at a higher temperature. The particle growth with the formation of the cubic single phase might influence the heat generation ability. The heat generation ability and the hysteresis loss value were proportional to the cube of the magnetic field (H³), because the coercivity value of the B–H curve was proportional to the square of the amplitude of the AC magnetic field (H²). The heat generation ability (W g⁻¹) of the Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ sample sintered at 1100 °C can be expressed by the equation 2.2×10⁻⁴∙f∙H³ using the frequency (f/kHz) and the magnetic field (H/kA m⁻¹), which has the highest heat generation ability of the reported magnetic materials. The hysteresis loss value for the B–H curve agreed with the heat generation ability of the samples calcined at 1100 °C and lower temperatures.     

Preparation of new heteronuclear (NH4)RE[FeII(CN)6]·nH2O complexes (RE = La,Ce, Pr,Nd, Sm,Gd, Dy,Y, Er,Lu) and their low-temperature decomposition for perovskite-type oxide

New heteronuclear (NH₄)RE^III[Fe^II(CN)₆]·nH₂O complexes (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Y, Er, Lu) were synthesized and their thermal decomposition products were investigated. The crystal structure of (NH₄)RE[Fe^II(CN)₆]·nH₂O would be a hexagonal unit cell (space group: P6₃/m), which was the same as that of La[Fe^III(CN)₆]·5H₂O. The hydration number n = 4 was estimated by TG results for all the RE complexes. The lattice constants depended on the ionic radius of the RE³⁺ ion for the heteronuclear complexes. The single phase of the perovskite type materials was directly obtained by decomposition of the heteronuclear complexes for RE = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd. A mixture of CeO₂ and Fe₂O₃ was formed for RE = Ce because of its oxidation to Ce⁴⁺. In the case of RE = Dy, Y, Er, and Lu complexes, the perovskite type materials formed at higher temperature via. mixed oxides such as RE₂O₃ and RE₄Fe₅O₁₃ due to the small RE³⁺ ionic radius.     

Magnetic reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as an effective electromagnetic wave absorber and its absorbing mechanism

A magnetic reduced graphene oxide (MRGO) composite consisting of graphene oxide and Fe₃O₄ particles in the range of 5–20 nm has been prepared by the one-pot hydrothermal process. RGO nanosheets provide flexible substrates for nanoparticle decoration, while Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles can also effectively prevent nanosheets to restack each other. Compared with previously literature, the synthesized RGO-Fe₃O₄ composite exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave absorption. The minimum reflection loss (R_L) value of −49.05 dB has been observed at 14.16 GHz with a thickness of 2.08 mm. The absorption bandwidth (R_L<−10 dB) corresponding to the minimum R_L is 4.60 GHz. The electromagnetic wave absorption properties of the RGO-Fe₃O₄ composite have been interpreted through the quarter-wavelength matching model.     

Design,synthesis, structure and magnetic behavior of a high spin binuclear Fe(III) complex of N-(1-ethanol)-N,N-bis(3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-2-hydroxybenxyl) amine

The Mannich reaction of 2-aminoethanol, 2-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, and formaldehyde at the ratio sets of 1:2:2 provided a new ligand, N-(1-ethanol)-N,N-bis(3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-2-hydroxybenxyl)amine (H₃L). In the presence of base, H₃L reacted with FeCl₃·6H₂O to form a dinuclear Fe(III) complex [Fe₂L₂] 1. The value of μ_eff at room temperature (5.95 μ_B), is much less than the expected spin-only value (8.37 μ_B) of two high spin (hs) Fe³⁺ (S = 5/2) ions [μ = g[∑ ZS(S + 1)]^1/2], indicating there were strong interactions between Fe³⁺ ions. The effective magnetic moment (μ_eff) decreased abruptly with cooling to a minimum value of 0.1 μ_B at 2 K. It was worth noting that Fe³⁺ ions of 1 exhibited thermally induced quartet ? doublet spin transitions, and these transitions were abrupt. The magnetic behaviors of 1 denoted the occurrence of intramolecular anti-ferromagnetic interactions. J (? 13.58 cm^? 1) agrees with the result from Gorun–Lippard equation, ? J (cm^? 1) = Aexp(BP(Å) = 12.9).     

Preparation of Fe3O4 particles from copper/iron ore cinder and their microwave absorption properties

In this study, magnetic Fe₃O₄ particles were prepared from copper/iron ore cider by precipitation oxidization method. The yield of Fe was 82.6 at%. XRD, TEM, SEM, EDS and microwave network analyzer were used to characterize the particles. The results showed that Fe₃O₄ particles were well crystallized and possessed an octahedral morphology, and the crystal size was about 200 nm; the sample with 70 wt% Fe₃O₄ exhibited the optimal absorbing ability, the minimum reflection loss was ?42.7 dB at 14.08 GHz and the bandwidth less than ?10 dB was about 4.2 GHz when the sample thickness was 1.9 mm. It was clearly demonstrated that the Fe₃O₄ particles prepared from copper/iron ore cider could be used as an effective microwave absorbing material.     

Structural,magnetic, and textural properties of iron oxide-reduced graphene oxide hybrids and their use for the electrochemical detection of chromium

Superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were anchored on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets by co-precipitation of iron salts in the presence of different amounts of graphene oxide (GO). A pH dependent zeta potential and good aqueous dispersions were observed for the three hybrids of Fe₃O₄ and RGO. The structure, morphology and microstructure of the hybrids were examined by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. TEM images reveal lattice fringes (d₃₁₁ = 0.26 nm) of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with clear stacked layers of RGO nanosheets. The textural properties including the pore size distribution and loading of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles to form Fe₃O₄–RGO hybrids have been controlled by changing the concentration of GO. An observed maximum (～10 nm) in pore size distribution for the sample with 0.25 mg ml^?1 of GO is different from that prepared using 1.0 mg ml^?1 GO. The superparamagnetic behavior is also lost in the latter and it exhibits a ferrimagnetic nature. The electrochemical behavior of the hybrids towards chromium ion was assessed and a novel electrode system using cyclic voltammetry for the preparation of an electrochemical sensor platform is proposed. The textural properties seem to influence the electrochemical and magnetic behavior of the hybrids.