Ultrasound–assisted synthesis and characterization of polymethyl methacrylate/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites

Abstract

This article reports ultrasound–assisted synthesis of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites by in situ emulsion polymerization coupled with in situ reduction of graphene oxide. The thermal degradation kinetics of the nanocomposites was also assessed with Criado and Coats‐Redfern methods. Intense microconvection generated by ultrasound and cavitation results in uniform dispersion of RGO in the polymer matrix, which imparts markedly higher physical properties to resulting nanocomposites at low (≤1.0 wt %) RGO loadings, as compared to nanocomposites synthesized with mechanical stirring. Some important properties of the PMMA/RGO nanocomposites synthesized with sonication (with various RGO loadings) are: glass transition temperature (0.4 wt %) = 124.5°C, tensile strength (0.4 wt %) = 40.4 MPa, electrical conductivity (1.0 wt %) = 2 × 10−7 S/cm, electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (1.0 wt %) = 3.3 dB. Predominant thermal degradation mechanism of nanocomposites (1.0 wt % RGO) is 1D diffusion with activation energy of 111.3 kJ/mol. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 673–687, 2018

Nanoparticle Filler Content and Shape in Polymer Nanocomposites

“…Unlike earlier mentioned PMMA-graphite nanocomposites (Wang J. et al, 2012), the strain-at-break of PMMA filled with graphene oxide nanosheets increased by 4 % (Poddar M.K. et al, 2018).…”

“…For example, at 10 wt% the carbon black was dispersed evenly but was insufficient for enhancing the electrical conductivity (Bhawal P. et al, 2018). Similarly, agglomerating sheets of reduced graphene oxide in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) caused the tensile strength, Young's modulus and elongation-at-break to deteriorate significantly beyond 1 wt% nanoparticle content so that less had to be incorporated (Poddar M.K. et al, 2018).…”

Nanocomposite of Graphene Oxide Encapsulated in Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA): Pre-Modification, Synthesis, and Latex Stability

“…The PS particles were linked with GO edges, which increased the organophilic property of GO [27]. GO or RGO (reduced graphene oxide) nanocomposites have been studied via various oil-in water systems including ultrasonic-assisted in-situ emulsion polymerization [28], microemulsion polymerization [29], in-situ seed emulsion polymerization [30], picking emulsion polymerization [31], reversible addition fragment chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization [32], and surfactant-free emulsion polymerization followed by electrostatic interaction methods [33]. These nanocomposites have high conductivity and can also serve as coating materials to encapsulate phase change materials.…”

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) Encapsulated Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite: Pre-modification, Synthesis, and Latex Stability

“…The PS particles were linked with GO edges, which increased the organophilic property of GO [27]. GO or RGO (reduced graphene oxide) nanocomposites have been studied via various oil-in-water systems including ultrasonic-assisted insitu emulsion polymerization [28], microemulsion polymerization [29], in-situ seed emulsion polymerization [30], picking emulsion polymerization [31], reversible addition fragment chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization [32], surfactant free emulsion polymerization followed by electrostatic interaction methods [33]. These nanocomposites have high conductivity and can also serve as coating materials to encapsulate phase change materials.…”