Effect of graphene on polar and nonpolar rubber matrices

Bismark Mensah,Seok In Kang,Changwoon Nah,Wonseok Wang

doi:10.1186/s40759-017-0034-0

Bismark Mensah, Seok In Kang + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40759-017-0034-0

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Abstract

BackgroundSo far, the effect of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in rubber matrix has not been well established.MethodsThe effects of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the physical properties of polar acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and non-polar Ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM) matrix have been investigated and their properties compared. NBR vulcanizates exhibited higher cure rates compared to the EPDM systems.ResultsEffective dispersion of the nanosheets within the different matrices was observed to be a reason for the improvement in properties, but the effective nanosheets-matrix interactions played a key role in reinforcing action. This was noticeable in the various properties (crosslinking density, tensile properties, and dynamical mechanical analysis) evaluated. Typically, the polar NBR matrix was observed to show about 461 and 405% higher interactions parameter with GO and rGO fillers (loaded from 0.1~1phr) than composites of EPDM based on Kraus model.ConclusionsWhile this present work has confirmed the significance of considering the polarities of graphene sheets or derivative graphene (GSD) and their respective polymers matrices for effective property enhancement for specific applications, it has also demonstrated the future prospects of rubber-graphene nanocomposites for several applications which include structural, barrier, and dielectric energy storage materials.

Highlights

The research of graphene and/or derivative graphene sheets (GSD)-reinforced rubber nanocomposites for technological applications such as; strain-sensitive materials, thermal insulators, gas barrier materials, and oil/ gas sealing etc. is a fascinating area, which is still under vigorous study.The GSD material has gained attention in polymer technology because of its unique properties and its ability to disperse and bond well in polymer matrices (Bai et al 2011; Bora et al.2013)
Morphology and state of dispersion of fillers Previously, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in a NBR matrix (Mensah et al 2014; Mensah et al 2015)
It is fascinating to observe that the same compressive strain conditions have been imposed on the Ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM)-GO/rGO based systems as seen in Fig. 3(a & b), but only few GS wrinkles coated with rubber molecules can be seen at the observing surfaces of the composites; EPDM-GO-1(Fig. 3(a)) and EPDM-rGO-1 (Fig. 3(b))

Summary

Methods

The effects of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the physical properties of polar acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and non-polar Ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM) matrix have been investigated and their properties compared. NBR vulcanizates exhibited higher cure rates compared to the EPDM systems

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Results and discussions