Abstract
The surface modification of graphene sheets with polymer chains may greatly hinder its aggregation and improve its phase compatibility with a polymer matrix. In this work, poly(l-lactic acid)-grafted graphene oxide (GO-g-PLLA) was prepared via a simple condensation polymerization method, realizing its dispersion well in organic solvents, which demonstrated that the surface of GO changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. GO-g-PLLA can disperse homogeneously in the PLLA matrix, and the tensile test showed that the mechanical properties of GO-g-PLLA/PLLA were much better than that of GO/PLLA; compared with GO, only 3% GO-g-PLLA content can realize a 37.8% increase in the tensile strength for their PLLA composites. Furthermore, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) results demonstrated that GO-g-PLLA shows a nucleating agent effect and can promote the crystallization of PLLA.
Highlights
Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), as an important biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, has been widely used in package materials [1], tissue regeneration [2], drug delivery, and many biomedical fields [3]
PLLA-grafted graphene oxide (GO-g-PLLA) was prepared via the simple condensation polymerization method, and the reaction was conducted at 120 ◦ C, much lower than the reported 180 ◦ C [8]
As a control, owing to its hydrophilic properties, GO dispersed homogeneously in the water and could not enter the chloroform phase. These results demonstrated that the surface of GO changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by grafting PLLA chains, which may further improve its phase compatibility with organic polymers
Summary
Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), as an important biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, has been widely used in package materials [1], tissue regeneration [2], drug delivery, and many biomedical fields [3]. Polymers 2017, 9, 429 method to prepare graphene oxide/PLLA composites with PLLA chains grafted on the surface of GO sheets [20]. Chen’s group used this method to prepare PLLA-grafted hyroxyapatite nanoparticles, and the results demonstrated that the oligo PLLA is enough to tune the surface properties of nanofillers [21,22]. In this manuscript, PLLA-grafted graphene oxide (GO-g-PLLA) was prepared via the simple condensation polymerization method, and the reaction was conducted at 120 ◦ C, much lower than the reported 180 ◦ C [8]. The GO-g-PLLA hybrids can work as nucleating agents and promote the crystallization of PLLA
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