Glass fiber coated with graphene constructed through electrostatic self‐assembly and its application in poly(lactic acid) composite

Abstract

A method to construct glass fiber/graphene material via the electrostatic self-assembly was proposed. The graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were firstly prepared from graphite according to Hummer's methods. Oppositely charged GO is successfully introduced to the surface of the GF cationized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) treatment in the solution with mild agitation. Sequently, glass fibers coated with graphene (GF/CRG) were obtained after chemical reduction. The graphene content was characterized by TGA and XPS tests and the value of about 0.7 wt % was obtained. Composites of poly(lactic acid) and GF/CRG were prepared through melt blending. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results shows that more than 50% graphene remains on the surface of GF after processing, which indicates a strong binding between GF and graphene. GF/CRG has significant influences on crystallization and mechanical property of PLA: the crystallinity of PLA increases from 27.61 to 51.29%; the tensile strength of the PLA-GF/ CRG composite is about 63% larger than the pure PLA at the GF/CRG content of 10 wt %. This new method can apply to making composites with high performance.

Highly Enhanced Mechanical, Thermal, and Crystallization Performance of PLA/PBS Composite by Glass Fiber Coupling Agent Modification

“…Importantly, the content, length, and interfacial bonding capacity of GF are crucial factors affecting the mechanical properties of composite materials. Yin et al [39] investigated the effects of modified GF on the mechanical properties and crystallinity of PLA composites. They first modified the GF surface with graphene oxide (GO) and then treated it with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES).…”

Enhanced interfacial adhesion in glass fiber fabric/epoxy composites employing fiber surface treatment with aminosilane-functionalized graphene oxide

“…Moreover, the GO loadings can be controlled and several serious issues, including the improvement of resin viscosity, reduction of resin gel time and nanofiller re-aggregates within fiber tows, 25,26 can be also avoided in the fabrication process of GFRE. Until now, a series of methods have been exploited by modifying glass fibers with GO, including electrophoretic deposition (EPD), 27 layer-by-layer assembly, 28,29 using sizing coating, 30 etc. Mahmood et al.…”

Mechanical and thermal properties of carbon nanotube- and graphene-glass fiber fabric-reinforced epoxy composites: A comparative study

“…13,14 More importantly, some critical problems, including high viscosity of the resins, 15 CNTs or graphene agglomeration, and filtering effects by woven glass fibers 16 can be avoided during the fabrication process of fiber-reinforced composites. A variety of techniques have been applied to deposit CNTs or graphene onto the surface of glass fibers, such as the use of sizing coating, 17,18 electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly, 19,20 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) 21,22 and the spray-up process. 23,24 Recent researches have focused on depositing CNTs or graphene onto the fiber tows 25 or chopped fibers, 26 or even single fibers, 27 but woven glass fibers are seldom used.…”