Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (SI-ATRP) From Graphene Oxide: Effect of Functionalized Graphene Sheet (FGS) on the Synthesis and Material Properties of PMMA Nanocomposites

Abstract

The effect of functionalized graphene sheets (FGS) on the synthesis and materials properties of PMMA nanocomposites has been studied. The esterified GO was used to perform the surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of MMA and the effects of ligand type, ligand:CuBr ratio and supported initiator concentration on the synthesis and properties of hybrid nanocomposites are studied at 95 °C. The nanocomposites prepared via SI-ATRP showed improved damping and film formation as compared to the peroxide polymerized composite from acrylated GO. The nanocomposites showed higher thermal stability, rheological and mechanical properties that varied with the FGS initiator content. The water contact angle of PMMA increases from 69° to 82° in the nanocomposite prepared with 2.33 wt% FGS content.