Effect of the C/O ratio in graphene oxide materials on the reinforcement of epoxy‐based nanocomposites

The effect of the C/O ratio of graphene oxide materials on the reinforcement and rheological percolation of epoxy‐based nanocomposites has been studied. As‐prepared graphene oxide (GO) and thermally‐reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) with higher C/O ratios were incorporated into an epoxy resin matrix at...

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Published inJournal of polymer science. Part B, Polymer physics Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 281 - 291
Main Authors Vallés, Cristina, Beckert, Fabian, Burk, Laura, Mülhaupt, Rolf, Young, Robert J, Kinloch, Ian A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken Wiley 15.01.2016
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
epoxides
Flakes
Graphene
graphene oxide
Mechanical properties
modulus of elasticity
Nanocomposites
Oxides
oxygen
Polymer matrix composites
polymers
Raman spectroscopy
Reinforcement
Rheological properties
rheology
viscosity
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Summary:The effect of the C/O ratio of graphene oxide materials on the reinforcement and rheological percolation of epoxy‐based nanocomposites has been studied. As‐prepared graphene oxide (GO) and thermally‐reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) with higher C/O ratios were incorporated into an epoxy resin matrix at loadings from 0.5 to 5 wt %. Tensile testing revealed good reinforcement of the polymer up to optimal loadings of 1 wt %, whereas agglomeration of the flakes at higher loadings caused the mechanical properties of the composites to deteriorate. The level of reduction (C/O) of the graphene oxide filler was found to influence the mechanical and rheological properties of the epoxy composites. Higher oxygen contents were found to lead to stronger interfaces between graphene and epoxy, giving rise to higher effective Young's moduli of the filler and thus to superior mechanical properties of the composite. The effective modulus of the GO in the nanocomposites was found to be up to 170 GPa. Furthermore, rheological analysis showed that highly oxidized graphene flakes did not raise the viscosity of the epoxy resin significantly, facilitating the processing considerably, of great importance for the development of these functional polymeric materials. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 281–291
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/polb.23925
istex:67DC34C32DF72586C531D3BE89306689D8FF4FCB
ArticleID:POLB23925
European Union Seventh Framework Programme - No. 604391
ark:/67375/WNG-20PNLWKT-2
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0887-6266
1099-0488
DOI:10.1002/polb.23925