Preparation of dispersible graphene oxide as a filler to increase the thermal stability of a flame retarding polymer

Graphene oxide (GO) was modified with polyethylene glycol mono-methyl ether 750 (MPEG750) by esterification to increase its dispersibility in solvents and a GO/PEG-4000 composite was prepared by solution blending. Results showed that the GO-MPEG750 is dispersible in both polar and nonpolar solvents. The thermal stability of the PEG-4000 could be improved significantly by adding as little as 1 mass% of the GO-MPEG750 in PEG-4000 as a nanofiller. The incipient degradation temperature was increased by 63 °C for the composite, suggesting a promising use of dispersible GO-MPEG750 to increase the thermal stability of flame retardants in industry.