Development of Organo-Dispersible Graphene Oxide via Pseudo-Surface Modification for Thermally Conductive Green Polymer Composites

Abstract

Graphene has attracted lots of researchers attention because of its remarkable conductivity in both electrically and thermally. However, it has poor dispersibility in organic solvents which limited its applications. Polymers with aromatic end group which act as an intercalator were prepared by ring-opening polymerization with ε-caprolactone by utilizing 1-naphthalene methanol (1-NM) as an initiator. These intercalators will exist between graphene oxide (GO) sheets to prevent aggregation via interactions. The attachment of 1-NM on polymer chains was supported by ultraviolet–visible spectra, size exclusion chromatography profiles, and 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Exfoliated structured functionalized GO (fGO)/polycaprolactone (PCL) (synthesized fGO) nanocomposites that dispersed well in acetone, chloroform, N , N -dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, tetrahydrofuran, and toluene were successfully synthesized. This agreed well with the enlarged interlayer spacing in the optimized fGO as compared to that of GO from density functional theory simulations using the DMol 3 module that implemented in the Materials Studio 6.0. Furthermore, its potential to be applied as green electronics in electronics, aerospace, and automotive industries was presented, by trailering the thermal conductivity enhancement from the incorporation of fGO/PCL with commercialized biodegradable polymers, PCL, and poly[( R )-3-hydroxybutyric acid].

Effect of polycaprolactone on physicochemical, biological, and mechanical properties of polyethylene oxide and polyamino acids nano block copolymers

“…But the pattern has been shifted toward a low angle due to the formation of a new crystal plane with the chances of a newly formed d spacing value. The other peaks at 15.7°, 19.2°, 26.3°, and 30.1° are observed significantly for both the 2 and 3 wt% NBCPs and are due to the interaction of semicrystalline PCL with PEO 27,28 . Generally, PAAs are amorphous, but as the percentage of PCL has increased in the material, the crystallinity also increases.…”

“…The other peaks at 15.7 , 19.2 , 26.3 , and 30.1 are observed significantly for both the 2 and 3 wt% NBCPs and are due to the interaction of semicrystalline PCL with PEO. 27,28 Generally, PAAs are amorphous, but as the percentage of PCL has increased in the material, the crystallinity also increases. From Figure 4a, it is visible that new peaks at 14.8 , 36.4 , 38.9 , 40.6 , and 44.1 may arise due to the interaction of amorphous PAAs, PEO, and PCL as the XRD shows a less crystalline property.…”

“…π*) due to the presence of ester and anhydride carbonyl groups contributed by PCL and PEO in NBCPs. 27 Another hump like peak at 223 nm (π ! π*) is observed due to the amide carbonyl group associated in 2 and 3 wt% PCL@PEO-PAAs respectively.…”

Application of Biodegradable and Biocompatible Nanocomposites in Electronics: Current Status and Future Directions

“…Aside from the nanocomposites previously discussed, there are many other biodegradable and biocompatible nanocomposites used to enhance electronic conductors, which will not be carefully discussed here [174,175,176,177,178,179,180].…”

Properties study of composites for polybutene‐1 and modified graphene oxide

“…24 After oxidizing superficially, the obtained GO would be rich for carboxyl functional groups and resulted in a good dispersion in aqueous solution for a long time because the coexisted electrostatic repulsion produced by positively charged hydrogen ion or negatively charged carboxyl ion. [25][26][27][28] However, GO could not disperse well in organic solvents, which would also be bad for some fields, [29][30][31][32] such as lubricant, anti-corrosive paint, and polymer nanocomposites. [33][34][35][36] So, it was necessary to modify the surface of GO again to make it better disperse in oily solvents and increase its compatibility with the polymer matrix to improve the polymer performance.…”