Novel crystalline reduced graphene oxide/adhesive nanocomposites for enhanced electrical, thermal, dielectric properties and electromagnetic energy absorption application

Abstract

At present times electromagnetic (EM) pollution is increasing due to a lot of progress and achievements in the electronics field. There is a dire need to develop materials that have greater EM energy absorption/emission properties. We report here the synthesis of a nanocomposite of carbonaceous material, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with Chloroprene (CP) grafted polymethyl methacrylate (CP-g-pMMA), i.e. rGO/CP-g-pMMA. FTIR confirms the grafting of Chloroprene rubber and the presence of rGO. XRD shows the crystallinity of rGO alone and in the composites as well. SEM images showed smooth texture for neat polymer while nanocomposite showed a leafy appearance of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The viscosity of pure CP was 3740 cps while CP-g-pMMA was 1644 cps. A slight decrease was observed after the addition of rGO. Enhancement in thermal properties from 264 °C to 269 °C showed that the composites were thermally more stable than the virgin CP and CP-g-pMMA. The permittivity and alternating current conductivity were checked by Radio Frequency (RF) impedance and material analyzer in the range of (1–1000 MHz) X-band and (1–3 GHz) S-band. The nanocomposites showed the lowest percolation (0.32 vol. %) yet reported. The nanocomposites showed low real and absolute permittivity. The electrical and permittivity analysis of the rGO/CP-g-pMMA nanocomposites revealed that they can be potential candidates for their applications in electronic devices as an absorber.