Abstract
Commercially useful rubber products viz. gloves, condoms, tyres, and rubber hoses used in high temperature environments, etc., require efficient thermal conductivity, which increases the lifetime of these products. Graphene can fetch this property, if it is effectively incorporated into the rubber matrix. The great challenge in preparing graphene-rubber nanocomposites is formulating a scalable method to produce defect free graphene and its homogeneous dispersion into polymer matrices through an aqueous medium. Here, we used a simple method to produce defect free few layer (2–5) graphene, which can be easily dispersed into natural rubber (NR) latex without adversely affecting its colloidal stability. The resulting new composite showed large increase in thermal conductivity (480–980%) along with 40% increase in tensile properties and 60% improvement in electrical conductivity. This study provides a novel and generalized approach for the preparation of graphene based thermally conductive rubber nanocomposites.
Highlights
Efficient heat dissipation in rubber based products is a desirable property, which will enhance the product durability and lifecycle
Graphite and melamine in 1:3 ratio was subjected to ball milling along with 12.5 wt% of Darvan-I (Sodium polynaphthalene sulphonate), an anionic surfactant, which helps to disperse the produced graphene in water
The ground mixture was dispersed in water using a probe sonicator to obtain a stable dispersion, which was characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
Summary
Efficient heat dissipation in rubber based products is a desirable property, which will enhance the product durability and lifecycle. The later method could be employed to produce defect free few layers graphene that is suitable for preparing graphene-NR latex composites, because, it is easy to practice, environment friendly, inexpensive and the ingredients used do not adversely affect the NR latex colloidal stability. The general approach to fabricate grapheneNR Latex nanocomposites involves dispersing GO into NR latex, in-situ reduction using reducing agents (e.g. hydrazine hydrate), followed by coagulation, and compounding using a two roll mill [31e37] This manner of preparation adversely impacts the colloidal stability of NR latex and cannot be used for producing dipped products. The obtained nanocomposites showed a significant improvement in thermal conductivity as well as substantial enhancement of mechanical properties and electrical conductivity
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