The overlooked role of reduced graphene oxide in the reinforcement of hydrophilic polymersElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Full experimental details; variation of hardness, H, with different parameters; SEM, TGA, water uptake, water contact angle, FTIR and WAXS measurements. See DOI: 10.1039/c4tc02425g

The covalent incorporation of reduced graphene oxide into a hydrophilic polymer demonstrates that, contrary to current opinion, reinforcement can be attributed to a change in water affinity. Advanced nanoindentation techniques show that the deterioration of the mechanical properties of poly(vinyl al...

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Main Authors: Flores, A, Salavagione, H. J, Ania, F, Martínez, G, Ellis, G, Gómez-Fatou, M. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The covalent incorporation of reduced graphene oxide into a hydrophilic polymer demonstrates that, contrary to current opinion, reinforcement can be attributed to a change in water affinity. Advanced nanoindentation techniques show that the deterioration of the mechanical properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) under high relative humidity can be avoided by incorporating a small quantity of reduced graphene oxide at molecularly controlled locations. Mechanical properties of PVA are stabilized against moisture absorption by highly hydrophobic graphene.
ISSN:2050-7526
2050-7534
DOI:10.1039/c4tc02425g