Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite

Abstract

Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites were synthesized by reducing graphene oxide in the polymer matrix at different temperatures. The effects of the GO content on the properties of the nanocomposites were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The degree of dispersion of GO in the PVP matrix was examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that both GO and RGO were well dispersed in the PVP matrix. Under low filler content, the improvement of onset decomposition temperatures of PVP nanocomposites was not obviously observed, but the amounts of residual char of the PVP nanocomposites were clearly increased. In addition, the decomposition temperature peak values of the PVP nanocomposites were increased, while the peak was broadened.