Thermal and morphological study of graphene based polyurethane composites

Abstract

Graphene-based polymer nanocomposites are highly used in the field of membranes, biomedical aids, automotive, electronics, actuators, aerospace and sensors. In this paper, the thermal and morphological study of polyurethane nanocomposites was carried out. Polyurethane nanocomposites were fabricated using the melt mixing in the presence of a solvent. Different weight percentages of graphene (2.5 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt%) were incorporated for preparing the nanocomposites. The morphological study of the polyurethane and nanocomposites samples was explored by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe the dispersion of graphene nanomaterials in the polyurethane matrix. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to examine the chemical properties of the different polyurethane nanocomposite. The existence of graphene in the polyurethane matrix was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal analysis of the nanocomposite samples was analyzed using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM showed that the graphene is dispersed throughout the polyurethane matrix. FTIR investigation showed that there is no change in the chemical properties of the polyurethane with the addition of graphene. XRD technique confirms the existence of graphene in the polyurethane matrix. TGA analysis concluded that the integration of graphene in the polyurethane matrix increases the thermal stability property of polyurethane. Therefore, as a result of the current study, polyurethane nanocomposites can be fabricated without any changes in chemical properties.