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Facile preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone)/Fe3O4@graphene oxide superparamagnetic nanocomposites

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Abstract

The main goal in this work was to prepare and characterize a kind of novel superparamagnetic poly(ε-caprolactone)/Fe3O4@graphene oxide (PCL/Fe3O4@GO) nanocomposites via facile in situ polymerization. Fabrication procedure included two steps: (1) GO nanosheets were decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles by an inverse co-precipitation method, which resulted in the production of the magnetite/GO hybrid nanoparticles (Fe3O4@GO); (2) incorporation of Fe3O4@GO into PCL matrix through in situ polymerization afforded the magnetic nanocomposites (PCL/Fe3O4@GO). The microstructure, morphology, crystallization properties, thermal stability and magnetization properties of nanocomposites were investigated with various techniques in detail. Results of wide-angle X-ray diffraction showed that the incorporation of the Fe3O4@GO nanoparticles did not affect the crystal structure of PCL. Images of field emission scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy showed Fe3O4@GO nanoparticles evenly spread over PCL/Fe3O4@GO nanocomposites. Differential scanning calorimeter and polar optical microscopy showed that the crystallization temperature increased and the spherulites size decreased by the presence of Fe3O4@GO nanoparticles in the nanocomposites due to the heterogeneous nucleation effect. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the addition of Fe3O4@GO nanoparticles reduced the thermal stability of PCL in the nanocomposites. The superparamagnetic behavior of the PCL/Fe3O4@GO nanocomposites was testified by the superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer analysis. The obtained superparamagnetic nanocomposites present potential applications in tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery.

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Acknowledgments

The work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31000427, 81271719, 81271720) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (DUT12JB09).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Guangshuo Wang, Zhiyong Wei, Xufeng Dong & Min Qi

  2. School of Automotive Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Shu Yang & Zhiyong Wei

  3. Department of Orthopedics, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116011, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Wang

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  1. Guangshuo Wang
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  2. Shu Yang
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  3. Zhiyong Wei
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  5. Hong Wang
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Correspondence to Zhiyong Wei, Hong Wang or Min Qi.

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Wang, G., Yang, S., Wei, Z. et al. Facile preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone)/Fe3O4@graphene oxide superparamagnetic nanocomposites. Polym. Bull. 70, 2359–2371 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-0957-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-0957-5

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