Polymer/graphite/graphene nanocomposites

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

Chen GH, Wu DJ, Weng WG, Yan WL (2001) Preparation of polymer/graphite ctmducting nanocomposite by intercalation polymerization. J Appl Polym Sci 82 2506 Chen XM, Shen JW, Huang WY (2002) Novel electrically conductive polypropylene/graphene nanocomposites. J Mater Sci Lett 21 213... 

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-... 

Graphene-polymer nanocomposites share with other nanocomposites the characteristic of remarkable improvements in properties and percolation thresholds at very low filler contents. Although the majority of research has focused on polymer nanocomposites based on layered materials of natural origin, such as an MMT type of layered silicate compounds or synthetic clay (layered double hydroxide), the electrical and thermal conductivity of clay minerals are quite poor [177]. To overcome these shortcomings, carbon-based nanofillers, such as CB, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphite have been introduced to the preparation of polymer nanocomposites. Among these, carbon nanotubes have proven to be very effective as conductive fillers. An important drawback of them as nanofillers is their high production costs, which... 

In Situ Intercalative Polymerization A variety of polymer nanocomposites have been prepared using this method, that is, PS/graphene, PMMA/expanded graphite, poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS)/layered double hydroxyl (LDH), PI/LDH, and PET/LDH. 

Recent studies showed that graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) or graphene could be used as a viable and inexpensive filler substitute for (3NTs (Fukushima and Drzal 2003). Typical values of the electrical percolation thresholds, which have been reported in the literature for graphene-based nanocomposites for selected polymer matrices, are presented in Table 13.3. The influence of graphene loading on the conductivity of one of the composites presented in Table 13.3 is shown in Fig. 13.2b. One can see that the electrical percolation thresholds achieved with graphene-based nanocomposites are often compared with those reported for CNT/polymer composites. 

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