Polymer/graphite/graphene mechanical properties

Mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of polymer/graphite/graphene nanocomposites are described in this section. 

It is necessary to disperse the nanomaterials in the best possible manner, especially those layered structures such as graphite, graphene or clays. It is important to obtain very thin (ca. one nanometer) and very wide (ca. 500 nanometers) nanostructures dispersed in the polymer matrices to achieve optimal gas permeability and to improve their mechanical properties without affecting structural quality, using a small amount of the nanomaterial. The particle orientation also has an important effect on the properties of the nanocomposite. Nanoparticles need to be dispersed within the polymer so that are parallel to the material s surface. This condition ensures a maximum tor-... 

Table 7.1 Mechanical properties of graphene/graphite-based polymer composites for various polymer matrices, filler types, and concentration and preparation methods...

Exceptional mechanical properties along with remarkable electronic transport properties and thermal conductivity have made graphene the best carbon filler. Significant enhancement in mechanical properties of graphene-based polymer nanocomposites has been found (even with lower concentration) compared to those of the neat polymer and conventional graphite-based composites. Moreover, graphene/polymer nanocomposites exhibit several-fold increase in electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. The conductive networks formed by graphene sheets result in considerable increase of the electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of nanocomposites. As can be observed in Tables 7.1 and 7.2, property enhancements vary... 

The majority of the research work recently published in the area of carbon nanofillers focuses on the characterization of polymer composites with functionalized-graphene sheets, as indicated in a bibliometric survey conducted by Peng et al. (Lv et al., 2011). However, some studies are available in which the characterization of mechanical and functional properties of polymer—intercalated/exfoliated graphite oxide or GO is reported, as summarized in the following sections. 

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