Effect of Pretreatment on Magnetic Nanoparticle Growth on Graphene Surface and Magnetic Performance in Electroless Plating

Abstract EN

Electroless plating involves sensitization, activation, and plating processes.

Sensitization and activation are conducted by dipping the substrate in SnCl2 solution and PdCl2 solution, respectively.

These pretreatment processes are required to plate the substrate with noncatalytic surfaces.

We investigated the effect of sensitization on the magnetic properties of FeCoNi@graphene hybrids prepared via electroless plating.

The solution concentrations during sensitization were varied to observe changes in the structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of FeCoNi@graphene using XRD, TEM, and VSM, respectively.

Sensitization under high concentration produced a large amount of SnO2, resulting in low saturation magnetization.

Further, the FeCoNi@graphene hybrid prepared via electroless plating without sensitization also exhibited low saturation magnetization owing to the formation of oxides and hydroxides.

We prepared FeCoNi@graphene with a saturation magnetization of 40.8 emu/g under sensitization at low concentration; this is the highest saturation magnetization among the reported magnetic material@graphene hybrids prepared via electroless plating.

This study provides guidelines for the pretreatment of graphene via electroless plating and should contribute to future studies on the synthesis of magnetic material@graphene hybrids.