Abstract

The addition of graphene as an efficient nano-filler to different polymer matrices lead to a substantial improvement in different physical properties which, as a result, pave the way towards promising applications. In this work, Polystyrene (PS) was reinforced with different low loadings of graphene oxide (GO). The latter was prepared according to the Hummers method. The incorporated weight fractions were (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 1.0) wt. %. Solution blending was the adopted approach to prepare the nanocomposites. The resulted nanocomposites were characterised compared to the neat polymer. Many tools were employed to investigate the structure, morphology, thermal, and thermo-mechanical behaviour of GO, neat polymer, and the nanocomposites. The structural and morphological outcome for GO and PS was confirmed compared to the literature. The outcome confirmed as well the good dispersion of GO nano-sheets in the PS. The thermal and thermo-mechanical properties were enhanced for the nanocomposites compared to the neat polymer. The results emphasised the improvement of nanocomposites' performance as the inclusion of GO went higher.

摘要

将石墨烯作为一种有效的纳米填料添加到不同的聚合物基质中，可以显着改善不同的物理性质，从而为有前景的应用铺平道路。在这项工作中，聚苯乙烯 (PS) 用不同的低负载氧化石墨烯 (GO) 增强。后者是根据悍马方法制备的。掺入的重量分数为 (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 1.0) wt。%。溶液混合是制备纳米复合材料所采用的方法。与纯聚合物相比，对所得纳米复合材料进行了表征。许多工具被用来研究 GO、纯聚合物和纳米复合材料的结构、形态、热和热机械行为。与文献相比，证实了 GO 和 PS 的结构和形态学结果。结果也证实了 GO 纳米片在 PS 中的良好分散。与纯聚合物相比，纳米复合材料的热和热机械性能得到了增强。结果强调了随着 GO 含量的增加，纳米复合材料性能的提高。