Graphene displays a unique combination of electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties. These properties are expected to be fully realized when pristine, single-layer graphene sheets, typically exfoliated into thin nano- or microscale platelets from graphitic precursors, can be obtained. In order for such sheets to be utilized, however, they must be first rendered compatible with either hydrophilic or hydrophobic media. Graphene oxide (GO) has been shown to function as an excellent precursor to various graphene-based materials. We introduce a method for attaching polymer brushes to GO using surface-initiated ATRP.  The graphene oxide were first functionalized with ATRP initiator, and then polymers were grown directly from surface of GO. The surface-grown polymers were saponified from the surface and also characterized.  Based on these results, the ATRP reactions were determined to proceed in a controlled manner and were found to be largely unchange the structure of the graphene oxide. It is anticipated that GO materials functionalized with ATRP initiators will be useful for controlling the surface properties of graphene-based materials.

Polymer-grafted graphene oxide through controlled surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)

239th National Meeting (2010)

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