Structural and magnetic properties of microwave-synthesized reduced graphene oxide/VO₂/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-assisted microwave (MW) synthesis of metal-oxide-based binary and ternary nanocomposites has recently gained considerable research attention. In this context, the current work demonstrates a facile rGO-supported solid-state MW synthetic route for fabricating a ternary nanocomposite of VO₂, Fe₂O₃, and rGO. Here, the MW irradiation for 90 s was found to be suitable for the reduction and exfoliation of graphite oxide to form rGO, the reduction of V₂O₅ to form VO_2, and the formation of Fe₂O₃ from ferrocene. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses confirm the formation of distinct metal oxides in the presence of rGO. Furthermore, the morphological analysis reveals the deposition of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles and VO₂ nanorods on the 2D rGO surface. Notably, the ternary composite displayed good magnetic properties for its potential biomedical applications. Overall, this work explores an efficient and cost-effective synthetic approach for developing graphene-based magnetic nanocomposites.