Effect of Graphite Oxide Dispersion Evaluated with Multifractal on Mechanical Properties and Thermal Stability of Poly(3hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4hydroxybutyrate)/Graphite Oxide Biocomposites

Abstract

ABSTRACTPoly(3hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB‐co‐4HB)]/graphite oxide (GO) composites were fabricated using a solution mixing method. The GO structures in the composites were analyzed by using transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. The fracture morphology of the samples was evaluated by the multifractal, and the effect of GO dispersion on the mechanical properties and the thermal stability were discussed for the P(3HB‐co‐4HB) and the composites. It was found that the interlayer spacing of the GO increased due to the intercalation of the polymer into the GO platelets. As the GO content increased, the relative multifractal spectrum increased, but the mechanical properties declined for the composites, indicating that the filler agglomeration effect overcame the reinforcement benefits for the high loadings of the GO. Moreover, both good dispersion and high content of the GO platelets increased the thermal stability of the composites. Therefore, the relative multifractal spectrum width of the fracture morphology was related to the mechanical properties and the thermal stability of the composites.