In the present study, we report the
fabrication of polybutadiene
rubber (PBR)/graphene nanosheet (GNS) nanocomposites using in situ polymerization. For the catalyst system, we chose
neodymium versatate (NdV3) as the catalyst, triethylaluminum
as the cocatalyst or activator, and ethylaluminum sesquichloride as
the chloride donor in the presence of GNSs. The effects of GNSs on
the activity of the catalyst, chain microstructure, structural, morphological,
and thermal properties of the nanocomposites have been investigated.
The morphology, structural properties, and the state of dispersion
of graphene nanoplatelets in the PBR matrix have been characterized
by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and
transmission electron microscopy which showed dispersion of the individual
layers (highly exfoliated) of graphene in the PBR matrix. Thermal
properties of nanocomposites have been studied by differential scanning
calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis. DSC results indicated
that the addition of small amounts of well-dispersed graphene significantly
increased the glass transition temperature (T
g) owing to restricted motion of rubber chains physically adsorbed
or wrapped to graphene surfaces because of π–π
and CH−π interactions. The incorporation of GNSs enhanced
the thermal stability and char yield of the nanocomposites. Based
on these results, in situ polymerization mainly paves
the way to prepare graphene-based nanocomposites of rubbers with good
properties and high performance.
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