Highly Conductive Nanocomposites with Three‐Dimensional, Compactly Interconnected Graphene Networks via a Self‐Assembly Process

Abstract

Polymer‐based materials with high electrical conductivity are of considerable interest because of their wide range of applications. The construction of a 3D, compactly interconnected graphene network can offer a huge increase in the electrical conductivity of polymer composites. However, it is still a great challenge to achieve desirable 3D architectures in the polymer matrix. Here, highly conductive polymer nanocomposites with 3D compactly interconnected graphene networks are obtained using a self‐assembly process. Polystyrene (PS) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) are used as polymer matrixes. The obtained PS composite film with 4.8 vol% graphene shows a high electrical conductivity of 1083.3 S/m, which is superior to that of the graphene composite prepared by a solvent mixing method. The electrical conductivity of the composites is closely related to the compact contact between graphene sheets in the 3D structures and the high reduction level of graphene sheets. The obtained EVA composite films with the 3D graphene structure not only show high electrical conductivity but also exhibit high flexibility. Importantly, the method to fabricate 3D graphene structures in polymer matrix is facile, green, low‐cost, and scalable, providing a universal route for the rational design and engineering of highly conductive polymer composites.

Bulk scale growth of CVD graphene on Ni nanowire foams for a highly dense and elastic 3D conducting electrode

“…Graphene oxide, which is composed of many functional groups on the graphene basal plane, has been identified as a promising material for processing http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2014.08.084 0008-6223/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. graphene materials into 3D structures, operating through hydrothermal reduction [9,10], breath-figure [11], chemical cross-linking [12], gelation [13] and the hard-template method [14,15]. Although these graphene-oxide self-assemblies possess pore structures in the scale of several micrometers and also have several other advantages in terms of production cost and suitability for mass production due to their simple preparation process, defective structures introduced during oxidation of the graphite still remain even after the reduction process, and this can reduce the electrical and mechanical properties of the graphene [16].…”

Highly Electrically Conductive Nanocomposites Based on PolymerInfused Graphene Sponges

“…Since the electrical and thermal conductivity of these composites strongly rely on electron and phonon percolation between the separated filler particles141516, a good dispersion of graphene sheets and high filler content are required to form a conductive interconnected network in the insulating polymer matrix to improve the conductivity of the composites17.…”

Graphene nanosheets@ZnO nanorods as three-dimensional high efficient counter electrodes for dye sensitized solar cells

“…3b, the structure of GNs reduced by the pulsed laser irradiation is also reflected in the Raman spectrum, in which the G band is at 1586 cm -1 corresponding to ordered sp 2 bonded carbon and D band is at 1336 cm -1 , which is ascribed to edge planes and disordered structures. 35,36 Fig. 3c shows the high-resolution TEM image of the GNs, in which the thin silk-like morphology and high transparency of GNs are clearly observed.…”