Influence of addition of selective metallic species on mechanical properties of graphene/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene composites

Abstract

In this work, we have studied the comparative effects of vacancies and the addition of two different metallic species (ie, boron and nickel) on mechanical properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with the help of an atomistic simulation toolkit. Calculations related to elastic constants, stress distribution, and localized stresses have shown that the doping of boron has a promising ability to overcome the loss in mechanical properties of a single layer graphene sheet which generally degrades due to the presence of vacancies. Though nickel is also having good mechanical properties and chemical activity but unfavorable for being used as a dopant in graphene. This should be due to the larger atomic size of nickel atoms which creates high localized stresses in the predefined structure of graphene. The presence of these metallic species in doped‐rGO has been experimentally confirmed with the help of Raman spectroscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Finally, the composites prepared with doped‐rGO and acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene have shown that nearly 7% doping of boron in rGO improved the tensile strength by 27%, tensile modulus by 8% and storage modulus by 53%.

Enhancing the Strength of Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene with Gas-Phase-Synthesized Graphene for Injection-Molding Applications

“…20 Strategies for mitigating the aggregation and restacking of graphene in ABS include the use of surface treatments, 7,[10][11][12][13]16 rod-shaped fillers, 8,18 and dopants. 14 The GNP flakes used in this study were unmodified. As a result, the aggregation and restacking of GNP in dissolved ABS might have occurred during the acetone evaporation step of the nanocomposite fabrication process.…”

“…Graphene is a single layer of covalently bonded carbon atoms with remarkable mechanical properties that can be harnessed to strengthen polymers. − Graphene-filled polymer-matrix nanocomposites (GNCs) continue to generate extraordinary interest in the scientific community, as evidenced by the thousands of reports on the topic that were published over the last three years alone (Figure S1). Research into GNCs has been facilitated by the wide availability of graphene manufactured through the exfoliation of graphite (Figure S1) such as graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP).…”

“…Enhancing the strength-to-weight ratio of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) can significantly benefit society because the engineering thermoplastic is widely used in the injection molding manufacturing of automotive parts, aircraft components, and consumer electronic devices. − The mechanical properties of ABS have been enhanced by reinforcing the plastic with GO, RGO, and GNP. − However, graphene flakes derived from graphite have several drawbacks that have limited the performance of the nanomaterials in polymers, including defects, multiple graphene layers, and a propensity to aggregate and restack in polymer matrices. ,− ,, Exfoliating bulk graphite into graphene powder also typically requires hazardous chemicals that give rise to liquid waste that is detrimental to the environment, ,,, which makes the sustainable mass production of GNCs a challenge. High-quality and aggregation-resistant graphene sheets created through environmentally friendly processes are still needed for the large-scale manufacturing of injection-molded GNCs.…”

“…Furthermore, flat platelets can restack into graphite due to van der Waals forces, − ,, which prevents polymer chains from interfacing with individual graphene layers . Strategies for mitigating the aggregation and restacking of graphene in ABS include the use of surface treatments, ,− , rod-shaped fillers, , and dopants . The GNP flakes used in this study were unmodified.…”

“…ABS–GSG nanocomposites exhibited an average stress at break that was 19.0% higher than that of pure ABS (Figure b), which indicates that GSG continuously reinforced ABS until the specimens fractured. The drastic increase in the strength of ABS with a GSG content of only 0.1 wt % was an unexpected result because filler loadings of at least 1.0 wt % are generally required to achieve similar improvements in ABS containing GO, RGO, or GNP. ,,− The surprising strength of ABS–GSG nanocomposites motivated an investigation into the relationships between filler structure, filler–matrix interfaces, and tensile properties of ABS–GNP and ABS–GSG nanocomposites.…”