Graphene is well known for its outstanding property profile characterized by an extremely high Young’s Modulus, electrical and thermal conductivity and a good barrier resistance. Combining all these interesting properties, it is ideally suited for the use as nanofiller in polymer - nanocomposites. Graphene can be either produced by bottom-up or top-down approaches. Bottom-up procedures are both cost and time consuming, in addition they deliver too small amounts for commercial application. In contrast, top-down approaches using pristine graphite as starting material are highly promising. At our institutes, the exfoliation and subsequent functionalization is achieved by two different strategies. Oxidation and reduction processes (i) on the one hand and mechanochemical exfoliation (ii) on the other hand. The oxidation and thermal reduction leads to functionalized graphene (TRGO) with an extremely high aspect ratio and platelet structure. The degree of functionalization can be tuned by varying the reduction temperature. Using the mechanochemical approach, pristine graphite is milled under various gas atmospheres. Functionalized nanoflakes (MG) with different particle size and shape can be produced by changing gas atmosphere and milling conditions.<br/>Both approaches can be easily scaled up and produce tailor-made functionalized graphene. The functionalization leads to a better dispersion and an enhanced matrix-filler interaction. We could successfully show the mechanical enhancement, as well as an improvement in gas barrier resistance and electrical conductivity in different polymer matrices.<br/>Overall, the easy and adjustable production processes of functionalized graphene and its outstanding improvements of polymer nanocomposites properties enables the use as nanofiller in an industrial scale.

Graphene as nanofiller: Tailoring the functionality for use in polymer nanocomposites

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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