Bimetallic Copper–Iron Oxide Nanoparticle-Coated Leathers for Lighting Applications

Bimetallic nanoparticles are proven to show superior properties than those for monometallic nanoparticles owing to their additive features. Herein, we synthesized bimetallic copper–iron oxide nanoparticles using a simple chemical precipitation method followed by calcination at 500 °C. The calcined bimetallic nanoparticles are spherical with a size of 54 ± 9 nm and possess both electrical conductivity and ferromagnetic properties. We further coated them on the surface of the leather to form the first-ever reported electrically conductive and magnetically active bifunctional leather. The existence of coated bimetallic nanoparticles with the poly(vinyl alcohol) dispersion noticeably seen on the grain surface of the leather up to 15.7 ± 0.8 μm thickness through the high-resolution scanning electron microscope. The developed bimetallic nanoparticles coated leather surface exhibited an excellent electrical conductivity of 4.7 × 10–4 S/cm and a saturation magnetization of 0.6 emu/g. We further demonstrated the applications of bifunctional leathers for advanced products such as operating the touch screen device and magnetic controlled switch appliances.