Facile Fabrication of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Edge-Selectively Oxidized Graphene Composite Fibers.

Taehoon Kim,Yeonsu Jung,Gayeong Han

doi:10.3390/ma12213525

Taehoon Kim, Yeonsu Jung + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12213525

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Oct 28, 2019
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Korea Institute of Materials Science

Abstract

Graphene derivatives are effective nanofillers for the enhancement of the matrix mechanical properties; nonetheless, graphene oxide (GO), reduced GO, and exfoliated graphene all present distinct advantages and disadvantages. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite fibers have been prepared using a recently reported graphene derivative, i.e., edge-selectively oxidized graphene (EOG). The PVA/EOG composite fibers were simply fabricated via conventional wet-spinning methods; thus, they can be produced at the commercial level. X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray scattering analyses were conducted to evaluate the EOG dispersibility and alignment in the PVA matrix. The tensile strength of the PVA/EOG composite fibers was 631.4 MPa at an EOG concentration of 0.3 wt %, which is 31.4% higher compared with PVA-only fibers (480.6 MPa); compared with PVA composite fibers made with GO, which is the most famous water-dispersible graphene derivative, the proposed PVA/EOG ones exhibited about 10% higher tensile strength. Therefore, EOG can be considered an effective nanofiller to enhance the strength of PVA fibers without additional thermal or chemical reduction processes.

Highlights

The ultrahigh tensile strength (~130 GPa) and Young’s modulus (~1 TPa) of graphene [1] make it an excellent nanofiller to enhance the mechanical properties of composites [2]; its poor dispersibility prevents the preparation of high-strength composites
The peak was not observed when the edge-selectively oxidized graphene (EOG) concentration was below 1.0 wt%. These results suggest that EOG was well dispersed in the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix with no aggregation sites at least at the resolution level of the instrument
The preparation method was essentially the same as that for PVA-only apart from the addition of an EOG solution instead of distilled water. This means that the composite fibers apart from the addition of an EOG solution instead of distilled water

Summary

Introduction

The ultrahigh tensile strength (~130 GPa) and Young’s modulus (~1 TPa) of graphene [1] make it an excellent nanofiller to enhance the mechanical properties of composites [2]; its poor dispersibility prevents the preparation of high-strength composites. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers present high mechanical strength, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and environmental-friendly fabrication process [11]. Their tensile strength is somewhat lower than those of aramid and poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) fibers and, many researchers have attempted the increase it [12,13]. A way to improve the mechanical properties is the preparation of nanocomposite fibers by incorporating high-strength nanofillers, such as graphene derivatives, into PVA fibers [14,15]. To further increase the strength of composite fibers by using non-oxidized graphene, some research groups have

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