Rheological Behavior and Electrical Properties of Graphene Oxide/Polyaniline Nanocomposites

Abstract

In this work, graphene oxide/polyaniline (GO/PANI) nanocomposites were synthesized by an in situ polymerization of aniline monomer in GO aqueous dispersions. The morphology and structure of GO/PANI were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and Raman spectra. The effects of the concentration of GO/PANI and temperature on the rheological behavior of silicone oil dispersions of GO/PANI nanocomposites were investigated. The results showed that the steady state viscosity of GO/PANI dispersions remarkably increased with the addition of only little GO and the concentrated dispersions showed characteristic shear-thinning behavior. Significantly, a Newtonian-pseudoplastic transition with a critical exponent of 2.2 was observed in silicone oil dispersions of GO/PANI with the increase of nanocomposites concentration. The viscosity of GO/PANI dispersions apparently decreased with increasing temperature, while the temperature showed a certain effect on the thixotropic behavior of concentrated dispersions. In addition, the effect of the GO content on the electrical conductivity of GO/PANI nanocomposites was also explored. It was noted that the GO sheets are effective fillers for improving the rheological behavior and electrical conductivity of PANI matrix. Therefore, the study of rheological behavior and electric property of GO/PANI nanocomposites could shed light on the processing and application of GO/conductive polymer nanocomposites.