No abstract

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) is synthesized by a modified Hummers method, Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films and PVA/ GO nanocomposite films are prepared by casting stable aqueous mixed solutions. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that there were a good compatibility and dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) on PVA matrix. In addition, nanocomposite films reinforced graphene oxide with the content of only 0.6 % phr have had 10.11% higher tensile strength, 12.24 % greater Young modulus, and significantly reduced water permeability during 4 hours of continuous immersion. Nanocomposite films maintained good thermal stability despite being added with graphene oxide, a material that is considered to have low thermal stability that easily decomposes below 200 oC, so thermal gravimetric analysis diagram (TGA) of PVA/ GO almost did not show a change compared to the neat PVA film. Initial results show that the efficiency of dispersing and reinforcing graphene oxide material on PVA resins has ameliorated the drawbacks of this polymer and contributed to extending the application of PVA in many areas. This has also reached closer to the goal of cleaning the environment by replacing non-biodegradable polymer sources with more friendly polymers.