Abstract
The dispersity of graphene (GE) in the matrix has an important influence on the thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of its derived composites. In this paper, surface modification with a silane coupling agent and a double injection method were used to improve the dispersity of GE in epoxy resin (EP). The thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of modified graphene/epoxy resin composites (modified GE/EP) were investigated by the thermogravimetric analysis, a four-probe method, and the tensile and bending strength. The results reveal that these properties of the composites can be improved significantly by using the modified GE as the filler. The surface of the modified GE/EP composite was smooth when the curing temperature was 75 °C. The weight loss of the modified GE/EP composite was lower than that of pure EP. The tensile and bending strength of modified GE/EP-0.07 (0.07 wt % modified GE) reached 74.65 and 106.21 MPa, respectively. In addition, the resistivity of modified GE/EP-0.1 (0.1 wt % modified GE) decreased to 52 Ω·cm, which was lower than that of CB/EP-1 (1 wt % carbon black, 95 Ω·cm) and Ag/EP-50 (50 wt % Ag particles, 102 Ω·cm). It is worth noting that the percolation threshold of the modified GE/EP composites was 0.025 vol % modified GE. These results show that the modified GE/EP composites have a potential application in conductive ink when the modified GE is used as the conductive filler.
Highlights
In recent years, carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphene (GE) used as conductive fillers have attracted the attention of many researchers [1,2,3]
Ω·cmincreasing when increasing the Ag particles content from 10 wt % to 50 wt %. These results indicate that the modified GE as the filler for the epoxy resin (EP) matrix is more efficient to improve the conductivity compared with CB and Ag particles
The content from 10 wt % to 50 wt %
Summary
Carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphene (GE) used as conductive fillers have attracted the attention of many researchers [1,2,3]. Wei and co-workers reported that the modified GE of various functional groups could improve the surface tension and adhesion of GE ink [26]. Nemala and co-workers prepared a lower-cost conductive ink with few-layers GE, as a substitute for a Pt-based counter electrode, decreasing the cost significantly [29]. These studies inspire the GE/EP composites to be further explored in conductive inks. The dispersity of GE in epoxy resin can be improved significantly by associating the above two methods, and the GE content for preparing GE/EP composites with excellent properties can be reduced.
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