Synergetic effect of hexaferrite and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in photothermal therapy and hyperthermia applications

Abstract

This research article describes the synthesis of composite materials by combining T-type hexagonal ferrite and reduced Graphene Oxide using the standard ceramic process. The Calcium-based T-type hexagonal ferrite was synthesized by using the sol-gel auto-combustion method while the reduced graphene oxide by adopting the Hummer method. The crystallite size varied in the range of 23.38 -39.16 nm as calculated from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. Consequently, the lattice parameters 'a' and 'c' decreased from 5.9 to 5.1 Å and from 29.92 to 28.32 Å, respectively. The use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed a range of particle sizes at the surface, varying from 1.70 nm to 3.85 nm. Moreover, the saturation and remanence magnetization values demonstrated an increasing trend with T-type hexaferrites concentration whereas the coercivity decreased. The UV–vis near-infrared spectra exhibited substantial light absorption, characterized by a wide absorption range in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region (700–1100 nm) which indicates its use in Photothermal therapy (PTT). The Calcium T- type hexaferrite exhibited clear peaks in the blue, green, violet, and yellow spectra in its photoluminescence (PL) properties. These peaks are believed to be caused by oxygen vacancies and defects. The synthesized samples displayed a lossy behavior in the polarization-electric field (P-E) loop, with saturation polarization levels exceeding remnant polarization, which is an amenable condition for lossy behavior. Most importantly, the synthesized materials had significant thermal responses when exposed to an alternation (AC) magnetic field, indicating their potential use in magnetic hyperthermia applications.