Abstract
We reported the fabrication of poly (vinyl alcohol) incorporated with two different sizes of graphene oxide particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed two sizes of graphene oxide, the first size is as prepared GO_300 nm and the second size is 100nm after hard sonication. The alteration in thermal and mechanical properties of PVA/ GO (5, 10, 15, 20%) nanocomposite compering with PVA are mainly due to the uniform dispersion of GO particles in the polymer matrix and huge interfacial interaction between PVA and GO sheets. Differential scanning calorimetry shows obvious changes in thermal characteristics of PVA after mixing with GO particles. The composite samples exhibit a significant finding at different concentrations and size distribution of GO.
Highlights
Graphene, a freestanding material consists of a single layer of sp2 bonded carbon atoms in hexagonal like structure
As shown in panel a, the scanning electron microscope revealed the size of GO particles is approximately 300 nm before doing ultra-sonication
The thermal history of PVA/GO composite samples was performed in a PerkinElmer Jade Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at a heating rate of 10 °C/min from 35 °C up to 520 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere which allowing the PVA to thermally decompose completely
Summary
A freestanding material consists of a single layer of sp bonded carbon atoms in hexagonal like structure (the strongest material ever measured). The presence of oxygen groups decorated graphene will improve the hydrophilicity and the dispersibility in polar solvents This behavior in dispersibility will provide graphene oxide particles the ability to be incorporated into polymer matrices for thin film fabrication. The functionality of graphene and its derivative GO comparing with CNTs in industrial applications is mainly related to the high surface to volume ratio because of the inaccessibility of CNTs surface to polymer molecules This makes graphene potentially more acceptable for enhancing the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of polymer matrices (Xu et al, 2009). GO nanoparticles produced by Hummer’s method revealed a Young’s modulus of 207.6 ± 23.4 GPa (Suk et al, 2010) and 250 ± 150 TPa with thermal annealing in hydrogen gas (Gómez-Navarro et al, 2008) These mechanical characteristics of GO added a strong benefit to polymer nanocomposites as fillers. Graphene oxide particles as an alternative metal-free nanostructure material can be synthesized from graphite via chemical exfoliation reaction
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