Abstract
We describe the synthesis of acid functionalized graphene (GE) which is grafted to chitosan (CH) by first reacting the oxidized GE with thionyl chloride to form acyl-chlorinated GE. This product is subsequently dispersed in chitosan and covalently grafted to form GE-chitosan. GE-chitosan is further grafted onto polymetanitroaniline (PMNA) by free radical polymerization conditions to yield GE-CH-PMNA. We have characterized the structure of synthesized GE-CH-PMNA composites by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy, and conductivity measurements. XRD data suggest the strongly crystalline character of the prepared specimen. Our measurement shows that the dielectric constants of these nanocomposites are remarkably enhanced due to interfacial polarization effect. This study demonstrates that functionalized graphene sheets are ideal nanofillers for the development of new polymer composites with high dielectric constant values.
Highlights
Graphene is the most basic form of carbon. It is composed of sp2 bonded carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal arrangement in a 2D plane [1]
We have demonstrated that the combination of graphene and the conducting polymer PMNA leads to a synergistic composite material possessing the properties of each of the constituent components
The structural, thermal, and electrical measurements were carried out on GE-CH-PMNA composite, and the important and interesting results obtained from the above characterization techniques are described below sequentially
Summary
Graphene is the most basic form of carbon. It is composed of sp bonded carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal arrangement in a 2D plane [1]. Graphene has been used in many engineering and industrial applications to create composite materials with superior qualities such as lubricants, functional fluids, and high temperature gaskets In these applications, one-carbon-atom thick graphene can be a very promising reinforcing agent [5,6,7] and provide exceptional electrical and thermal transport properties compared to other nanomaterials such as layered silicates or CNTs [8,9,10]. Similar mechanical and thermal properties have been observed in CH/Reduced GO (RGO) nanocomposites by Wang et al [32] Tensile strength of this CH/RGO nanocomposite was measured to be higher than that of pure chitosan, while it exhibited high electrical conductivity. The dielectric constant of this composite is increased with the increase in the volume fraction of functionalized GE (F-GE) and reaches a maximum value of 3200 at 8 vol% of F-GE
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