Graphene oxide synthesis for composite material preparation

Abstract

Graphene, a material formed by carbon atoms with sp2 hybridization in a hexagonal arrangement, has differentiated characteristics in comparison to commercial materials such as high flexibility, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and strong resistance due to the organized structure of the material and can be applied in several branches of research. The best-known method for the production of graphene is the exfoliation of graphite using the methodology proposed by Hummers, in which the commercial graphite is oxidized obtaining as final product the graphene oxide that can be converted into graphene. In this study, the Hummers methodology was used in the oxidation of synthetic graphite and graphene nanoplates of 5 μm and 15 μm. The obtained materials were characterized by FTIR, RAMAN and XRD, allowing to observe the best synthesis to be used in the production of graphene oxide. Then, composites were prepared using the graphene oxides obtained as filler. In order to obtain them, different mass quantities of graphene oxides (1%, 3% and 5% in relation to the polypropylene polymer matrix) were used, demonstrating by the strain tensile stress tests that the composite materials have results more satisfactory than pure polypropylene.