Author/Authors :
-، - نويسنده Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Korea|Key Lab. of Synthetic Rubber, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academic of Science, China Zhang, He-Xin , -، - نويسنده Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Korea Lee, Seung-Ri , -، - نويسنده Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Korea Lee, Dong-Ho , -، - نويسنده Key Lab. of Synthetic Rubber, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academic of Science, China Zhang, Xue-Quan , -، - نويسنده Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Korea Yoon, Keun-Byoung
Abstract :
Despite the great potential of graphene as a nanofiller, achieving homogeneous dispersion remains the key challenge for effectively reinforcing polyolefin (such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)) nanocomposites. Therefore, in this research, we report a facile combined in situ polymerization and masterbatch method for fabricating PP/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites. In the polymerization stage, the synthesized catalyst exhibited a very high activity toward propylene polymerization, while the resultant PP/rGO with a very high isotactic index (I.I. = 99.3), broad molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 14.9), and thermal stability was produced. After meltblending with commercial PP, a significantly increased modulus along with no observable change in tensile strength and elongation-at-break were achieved via the addition of a very small amount of rGO; these properties resulted from the suitable dispersion and good interface adhesion of the graphene sheet and PP matrix. Thus, this work provides a method for production of high performance PP.
