Graphene thermally modified with polyvinyl alcohol applied as conductive water-based paints based on polyurethane

This paper presents the fabrication of thermally reduced graphene modified with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which can be used as a conductive water-based paint based on polyurethane (PU). Graphite oxide (GO) was oxidised from graphite by the Hummer method, and then graphene was formed by the thermal-reducing GO method. The graphene was modified by dispersing it into a PVA solution with various concentrations and mass ratios to optimise the modification process. The graphene modified with PVA could be easily dispersed in water. Water-borne PU film-forming polymer was prepared by polymerisation reaction between isophorone diisocyanate with poly(tetramethylene glycol) and dimethylolpropionic acid. The carboxylate functional groups on the surface of the polymer particles make the polymer particles dispersed well and stable in water, so this polymerisation process does not use any surfactants. The characterisation methods included field emission scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX), specific surface area measurement, Raman microspectroscopy, resistance measurement... The graphene-based conductive paint has good adhesion, conductivity of the dry paint film was from 0.1-4 mS/cm with graphene content in the dry paint film was about 5-10 wt%.