A promising polymer nanocomposite : highly dispersed Fe3O4@graphene in polystyrene through melt compounding

Abstract

The main goal of this work is to fabricate a novel polymer nanocomposite based on polystyrene and modified graphene oxide simply by melt compounding. Fabrication of transition metal nanoparticles@graphene fillers was achieved by in situ solution reaction of transition metal ions precusors, dopamine and graphene oxide, followed by annealing. The resultant Fe3O4@carbonized polydopamine @ graphene oxide ( Fe3O4@CDGO) fillers were melt blended with polystyrene. The results based on FESEM and TEM showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles were well-dispersed on dopamine-coated graphene oxide (DGO) even after annealing process. Also, after melt compounding with polymer, the TGA analysis demonstrated improved thermal stabilities of the polymer nanocomposite. DMA analysis also showed enhanced mechanical properties of PS with transition metal nanoparticles@grahene hybrids. The improved properties are due to the well dispersion of fillers.