Comparison of Properties of PVA Nanocomposites Containing Reduced Graphene Oxide and Functionalized Graphene.

Gi Tae Park,Jin-Hae Chang

doi:10.3390/polym11030450

Abstract

The thermal properties, morphologies, oxygen barrier properties, and electrical conductivities of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hybrid films containing different nanofillers were compared. For the fabrication of the PVA hybrid films, we used reduced graphene oxide (RGO) synthesized from graphite or functionalized hexadecylamine-graphene sheets (HDA-GS) obtained from HDA and GS as a reinforcing filler. The properties of the PVA hybrid films fabricated by intercalating PVA and the fillers for different filler contents ranging from 3 to 10% w/w were then compared. The dispersions of the graphene fillers in the matrix polymers were examined using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy, and the changes in their thermal properties were observed using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, we measured the oxygen permeability and electrical conductivity of the films to investigate their industrial applications. In addition, all the physical properties of the PVA composites obtained using the two nanofillers were compared.

Highlights

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a colorless and transparent hydrophilic polymer that has been widely used in industry for a long time [1,2,3]
The morphology of the films was investigated, and it was confirmed that the graphene layers were dispersed in the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)
As the filler content increased, some graphene aggregated above the critical concentration, but the fillers generally maintained their nanoscale size

Summary

Introduction

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a colorless and transparent hydrophilic polymer that has been widely used in industry for a long time [1,2,3]. Due to the hydrophilicity of PVA, its mechanical properties and electrical properties vary considerably depending on the external humidity [7,8,9], and its solubility, viscosity, and film strength may differ depending on the degree of saponification (DS) [4,10]. A number of PVA nanocomposites have been reported using various well-known nanofillers, clay [11,12,13]. When the clay layer is dispersed and mixed well into PVA gel, even in the wet or partially dry state, it forms a nanocomposite that is hybridized at the nanometer scale [14,15,16]

Methods

Results

Conclusion