Modification of Footwear PVC Outsoles into Graphene Oxide-Based PVC (PVC/GO) Soling Composites for the Enhancement of Better Physical Properties

Abstract

Outsole is a crucial component of a shoe’s bottom that directly contacts the ground. Comfort and durability are the most expected characteristics of outsoles. Various nanocomposites are utilized to increase the thermal stability, light weightiness, microporosity, and durability of polymeric materials. In this research, PVC soling composites were prepared using synthesized graphene oxide (GO) from a modified Hummer method. The goal is to improve physical properties like thermal stability or durability, lightweight, tensile strength, and hardness. The GO content in developed soling composites ranged from 0.1% to 0.4% by the colloidal blending method. FTIR, TGA, XRD, and SEM characterized GO and GO/PVC soling composites. The presence of the functional groups C=C, C-O-C, -C=O, and -OH was confirmed by the FTIR spectra of GO, while oxygen-holding functional groups to the layered structure caused the separation of the interlayer space to grow from 0.34 nm to 0.86 nm, according to GO XRD data. XRD results revealed that the GO layers were uniformly distributed in the polymeric matrix of composites. TGA results exhibited that the percentage of mass loss for GO was 81.96% at 800 °C and for soling composites it decreased continuously with an increase in the content of GO, respectively. SEM analysis revealed that the composites with GO showed a homogeneous composite with significantly porous surface morphology. Proportional improvement of tensile strength and hardness for GO-based soling materials were in an increased proportion and density were in a decreased proportion, making the outsole lightweight and durable. Finally, the results suggest that GO/PVC soling composites can improve the durability, mechanical and thermal stability, light weightiness, and microporosity of PVC soles, while the best performance was found for PVC/GO-0.4% soling composites.