Abstract
Bio-based polyurethane (PU) composites with superior thermal and mechanical properties have received wide attention. This is due to the recent rapid developments in the PU industry. In the work reported here, novel nano-composites with graphene oxide (GO)-modified Sapium sebiferum oil (SSO)-based PU has been synthesized via in situ polymerization. GO, prepared using the improved Hummers method from natural graphene (NG), and SSO-based polyol with a hydroxyl value of 211 mg KOH/g, prepared by lipase hydrolysis, were used as raw materials. The microstructures and properties of GO and the nano-composites were both characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile tests. The results showed that GO with its nano-sheet structure possessed a significant number of oxygen-containing functional groups at the surface. The nano-composites containing 1 wt % GO in the PU matrix (PU1) exhibited excellent comprehensive properties. Compared with those for pure PU, the glass transition temperature (Tg) and initial decomposition temperature (IDT) of the PU1 were enhanced by 14.1 and 31.8 °C, respectively. In addition, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the PU1 were also improved by 126% and 102%, respectively, compared to the pure PU. The significant improvement in both the thermal stability and mechanical properties for PU/GO composites was attributed to the homogeneous dispersion and good compatibility of GO with the PU matrix. The improvement in the properties upon the addition of GO may be attributable to the strong interfacial interaction between the reinforcing agent and the PU matrix.
Highlights
Polymeric nano-composites with low costs, excellent properties, and corrosion resistance derived from eco-friendly resources are extremely scarce and urgently needed in the fields of machinery fabrication, electronics, biomedicine, and the chemical industry [1,2]
Polyurethane (PU) is usually made from diisocyanates and polyols originating from petroleum, which is in finite supply, and its utilization may contribute to environmental pollution
3422cm cm is is attributed to the presence of groups on the surface of and is recognized as the tight attributed to the presence of O–H groups on the surface of natural graphene (NG) and is recognized as the tight binding of
Summary
Polymeric nano-composites with low costs, excellent properties, and corrosion resistance derived from eco-friendly resources are extremely scarce and urgently needed in the fields of machinery fabrication, electronics, biomedicine, and the chemical industry [1,2]. Utilization of renewable resources for the synthesis of polymers has become a priority to meet the requirements of sustainable development and environment friendliness in the chemical industry [3,4]. Bio-based polyurethane (BPU) is one of the most promising polymer matrixes for composites owing to its molecular designability, structural controllability, and performance diversity [5,6]. Significant attention has been focused on plant oil-based polyols, derived from soybean, sunflower, jatropha, linseed, castor, tung, palm, and Sapium sebiferum kernel oils, for the preparation of novel specific polyurethane formulations [7,8,9]. Compared with other plants oils, Sapium sebiferum oil (SSO) is one of the most economical oil sources for the preparation of Sapium sebiferum polyols (SSP)
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