Preparation and characterization of melt‐blended graphene nanosheets–poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites with enhanced properties |
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Authors: | M. El Achaby F. Z. Arrakhiz S. Vaudreuil E. M. Essassi A. Qaiss M. Bousmina |
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Affiliation: | 1. Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAsCIR), Institute of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies (NANOTECH), Rabat, Morocco;2. Faculty of Science, Mohammed V‐Agdal University, B.P. 1014 RP, Rabat, Morocco;3. Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology, Rabat, Morocco |
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Abstract: | Nanocomposites of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with chemically reduced graphene nanosheets (GNs) were prepared by melt mixing method and their structure and morphology characterized by SEM analysis. The addition of GNs in the PVDF matrix resulted in changes of the crystallization and melting behaviors. Furthermore, increasing GNs content led to improved thermal stability of the PVDF nanocomposites in air and nitrogen, as well as significant increase in tensile and flexural properties. The nanocomposites' rheological behavior is also affected by the GNs' content. Using oscillatory rheology to monitor the GNs' dispersion, it was found that as the GNs loading increase, the Newtonian behavior disappears at low frequency. This suggests a viscoelastic behavior transition from liquid‐like to solid‐like, with greater GNs content and more homogeneous dispersion resulting in a stronger solid‐like and nonterminal behavior. By using the melt mixing method to disperse GNs, the properties of PVDF are enhanced due to the better dispersion and distribution of GNs throughout the matrix. This improvement could broaden the applications for PVDF nanocomposites. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013 |
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Keywords: | graphene, polymer nanocomposite melt blending thermal properties mechanical properties |
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