Electrical properties of graphene/SBR nanocomposite prepared by latex heterocoagulation process at room temperature

Abstract

MLGS/SBR nanocomposites were prepared by heterocoagulation between negatively charged SBR latex particles and positively surface modified MLGS in water with the aid of flocculant, polyaluminium chloride (PAC). With the optimum amount of a flocculant, well-controlled heterocoagulation yielded MLGS/SBR nanocomposite particles at room temperature with unimodal particle size distribution. The size of the composite particles was in the range of 10–20 μm. SEM morphology showed that MLGS was spatially well-distributed into SBR matrix under the optimum condition. The thermal stability was lightly improved due to the π–π interaction between MLGS and the phenyl groups of SBR. Also, the electrical conductivity of MLGS/SBR composite increases from 4.52 × 10 −13 to 4.56 × 10 −7 S/cm with a corresponding increases of MLGS from 0.5 to 5 wt%.