Facile one pot synthesis of graphene oxide (GO) by sonication assisted mechanochemical approach has been reported here. The amalgamation of ultrasonication and mechanical stirring has assisted the synthesis of GO in a short time duration of only 4 hours with good reaction yield. The structural characterization of GO was performed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Visible spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopic (AFM) analysis manifested the flake like morphology of GO with average sheet thickness ~1.5 nm. AFM also provides important information about the surface roughness. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis gave clear visualization of well exfoliated structure of GO in the form of thin flakes. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis revealed a crimpling surface morphology of GO. The average size of GO flake as revealed through various morphological as well as light scattering techniques was around 3 μm. Moreover, important surface chemistry of the synthesized GO was well ascertained through contact angle analysis, AFM analysis and zeta potential analysis.
Compatible blends of nonreactive thermoplastic fluoropolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) at 70/30 weight ratio, were prepared by utilizing the unique structural feature of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Here, RGO acts as a compatibilizer as well as a reinforcing filler. RGO interacts with both polymers and reduces the interfacial tension between them, leading to compatibilization. RGO content in the blends was varied from 0 to 0.5 wt %, and the best result was found at 0.3 wt % loading. Excellent compatibilization between PVDF and TPU was established by mechanical, morphological, and thermal property studies. Chemical interaction between the RGO/TPU and RGO/PVDF was proved by FTIR-ATR study. With the incorporation of 0.3 wt % RGO, tensile strength, Izod impact strength, and elongation at break of the blend were increased by 42%, 83%, and 43%, respectively. FESEM and AFM images of blends without loading of filler after etching out of TPU phase show nonuniformly distributed hole morphology. RGO-containing blend has shown much finer and uniformly distributed holes that confirm improved compatibility between the two incompatible polymers. RGO also improves the thermal stability of the compatible blends considerably. At 0.3 wt % loading, the onset of thermal degradation increased by about 10 C.
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