Preparation of polyimide/siloxane‐functionalized graphene oxide composite films with high mechanical properties and thermal stability via in situ polymerization

An effective approach to prepare polyimide/siloxane‐functionalized graphene oxide composite films is reported. The siloxane‐functionalized graphene oxide was obtained by treating graphene oxide (GO) with 1,3‐bis(3‐aminopropyl)‐1,1,3,3‐tetra‐methyldisiloxane (DSX) to obtain DSX‐GO nanosheets, which provided a starting platform for in situ fabrication of the composites by grafting polyimide (PI) chains at the reactive sites of functional DSX‐GO nanosheets. DSX‐GO bonded with the PI matrix through amide linkage to form PI‐DSX‐GO films, in which DSX‐GO exhibited excellent dispersibility and compatibility. It is demonstrated that the obvious reinforcing effect of GO to PI in mechanical properties and thermal stability for PI‐DSX‐GO is obtained. The tensile strength of a composite film containing 1.0 wt% DSX‐GO was 2.8 times greater than that of neat PI films, and Young's modulus was 6.3 times than that of neat PI films. Furthermore, the decomposition temperature of the composite for 5% weight loss was approximately 30 °C higher than that of neat PI films. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry