Preparation of poly(vinyl chloride)-solvothermally reduced graphene composite by latex tecnology

Abstract

Graphene, a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, has attracted great attention due to its extraordinary electrical, excellent mechanical, superior thermal properties and high specific surface areas [1]. One of the most immediate applications is using graphene as nanofiller to improve the electrical and thermal conductivity, and mechanical property of polymer [2–9]. Stankovich et al. [2] reported that polystyrene-graphene composite exhibited the percolation threshold of 0.1 volume per cent for room-temperature electrical conductivity, which is the most lowly reported value for any carbon-based composite, and at only 1 volume per cent, that composite had a conductivity of 0.1 S m−1 which is sufficient for many electrical applications [10]. Ramanathan et al. [3] reported an unprecedented shift in glass transition temperature of nearly 30 oC was obtained for poly (methyl methacrylate) at only 0.05 wt% of graphene. In most cases, polymer-graphene composites exhibit higher improvement compared with that of polymer-carbon nanotube.