Influence of graphene oxide on mechanical, morphological, barrier, and electrical properties of polymer membranes

Abstract

This paper expresses a short review of research on the effects of graphene oxide (GO) as a nanocomposite element on polymer morphology and resulting property modifications including mechanical, barrier, and electrical conductivity. The effects on mechanical enhancement related to stress measurements in particular are a focus of this review. To first order, varying levels of aggregation of GO in different polymer matrices as a result of their weak inter-particle attractive interactions mainly affect the nanocomposite mechanical properties. The near surface dispersion of GO in polymer/GO nanocomposites can be investigated by studying the surface morphology of these nanocomposites using scanning probe microscopy such as atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the bulk, GO dispersion can be studied by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXD) by analyzing the diffraction peaks corresponding to the undispersed GO fraction in the polymer matrix. In terms of an application, we review how the hydrophilicity of graphene oxide and its hydrogen bonding potential can enhance water flux of these nanocomposite materials in membrane applications. Likewise, the electrical conductivity of polymer films and bulk polymers can be advantageously enhanced via the percolative dispersion of GO nanoparticles, but this typically requires some additional chemical treatment of the GO nanoparticles to transform it to reduced GO. ª 2015 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Thin‐Film Nanocomposite Nanofiltration Membranes Incorporated with Graphene Oxide for Phosphorus Removal

“…However, the membrane properties can be improved by modifying the thin layer using hydrophilic nanoparticles . The nanoparticles that have been previously used for TFN membrane synthesis include zeolite , titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) , , graphene oxide (GO) , , silver , silica , and metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) , . Previous studies showed that the incorporation of nanoparticles generally help to boost up the water permeation flux, mainly attributed to alteration of membrane surface hydrophilicity , .…”

“…Compared to the TFC and TFN‐1 membranes, the results indicate that the TFN‐2 membrane suffers from a higher degree of flux decline when the feed concentration is increased from 10 to 20 mg L −1 . This finding could be mainly due to the rougher surface of the TFN‐2 membrane which is more easily fouled by phosphorus .…”

Studying the Potential Application of Electrospun Polyethylene Terephthalate/Graphene Oxide Nanofibers as Electroconductive Cardiac Patch

“…Usually, more hydrophilic surfaces are preferred by cells for adhesion. The CA is a representative of the water adsorption potential (hydrophilicity) of the studied surfaces . Although the blending of nonhydrophilic polymers with hydrophilic ones results in a decrease in CA value and improves hydrophilicity properties, it may affect other structural characteristics of nanofibers, such as reducing mechanical properties.…”

Effective gas separation through graphene oxide containing mixed matrix membranes

“…Since Graphene nanosheets are exposed to agglomerate, to achieve uniform distribution and intimate interfacial interaction, graphene's derivatives such as graphene oxide (GO) are used in most applications. GO with surface full of oxygen containing functional groups can effectively be dispersed and interact with polymer matrices . Recently, materials based on GO nanosheets have been in the focus of research studies as membranes for separation processes .…”