oxide (DOPO) has been grafted onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) by reacting epoxy ring groups together with the reduced graphene structure (DOPO-rGO). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV− vis spectroscopy confirm that DOPO not only covalently bonded to the GO, as a functionalization moiety, but also partly restored the conjugate structure of GO, as a reducing agent. A pelletlike structure of DOPO on rGO sheets was observed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), contributing to good dispersion of rGO in nonpolar toluene. Furthermore, the flame retardancy and thermal stability of DOPO-rGO/epoxy nanocomposites containing various weight fractions of DOPO-rGO were investigated by the limiting oxygen index (LOI) test and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in nitrogen. Significant increases in the char yield and LOI were achieved with the addition of 10 wt % DOPO-rGO in epoxy, giving improvements of 81% and 30%, respectively. DOPO-rGO/epoxy nanocomposites with phosphorus and graphene layer structures were found to contribute to excellent flame retardancy compared to that of neat epoxy. Therefore, the synergestic effect of DOPO-rGO is quite useful, and this material can be utilized as a potential flame retardant.

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are novel nanofillers possessing attractive characteristics, including robust compatibility with most polymers, high absolute strength, and cost effectiveness. In this study, GNPs were used to reinforce epoxy composite and epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminates to enhance their mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of GNPs/epoxy nanocomposite, such as ultimate tensile strength and flexure properties, were investigated. The fatigue life of epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminate with GPs-added 0.25 wt% was increased over that of neat laminates at all levels of cyclic stress. Consequently, significant improvement in the mechanical properties of ultimate tensile strength, flexure, and fatigue life was attained for these epoxy resin composites and carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite laminates.

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Precursor of polyimide, polyamic acid has been prepared sucessfully. Acid‐modified carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was grafted with soluble polyimide then was added to the polyamic acid and heated to 300 °C to form polyimide/carbon nanotube composite via imidation. Morphology, mechanical properties and electrical resistivity of the MWCNT/polyimide composites have been studied. Transmission electron microscope microphotographs show that the diameter of soluble polyimide‐grafted MWCNT was increased from 30–60 nm to 200 nm, that is a thickness of 70–85 nm of the soluble polyimide was grafted on the MWCNT surface. PI‐g‐MWCNT was well dispersed in the polymer matrix. Percolation threshold of MWCNT/polyimide composites has been investigated. PI‐g‐MWCNT/PI composites exhibit lower electrical resistivity than that of the acid‐modified MWCNT/PI composites. The surface resistivity of 5.0 phr MWCNT/polyimide composites was 2.82 × 108 Ω/cm2 (PI‐g‐MWCNT) and 2.53 × 109 Ω/cm2 (acid‐modified MWCNT). The volume resistivity of 5.0 phr MWCNT/polyimide composites was 8.77 × 106 Ω cm (PI‐g‐MWCNT) and 1.33 × 1013 Ω cm (acid‐modified MWCNT).Tensile strength and Young's modulus increased significantly with the increase of MWCNT content. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3349–3358, 2007

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