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Clay‐Graphene Nanoplatelets Functional Conducting Composites
Author(s) -
RuizHitzky Eduardo,
Sobral Maria Madalena C.,
GómezAvilés Almudena,
Nunes Claudia,
RuizGarcía Cristina,
Ferreira Paula,
Aranda Pilar
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201603103
Subject(s) - materials science , sepiolite , graphene , composite material , percolation threshold , syneresis , nanocomposite , carbon nanotube , conductivity , electrical resistivity and conductivity , percolation (cognitive psychology) , polymer , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , raw material , chemistry , engineering , neuroscience , electrical engineering , biology
An approach to functionalize graphene‐based materials has been developed by assembling graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) with clay minerals. Under convenient sonomechanical treatment, clay–GNP mixtures may produce very stable water dispersions in particular using sepiolite fibrous clay. While in the absence of clay a rapid decantation of GNP in water is observed, in the presence of sepiolite the resulting dispersions remain stable during months without syneresis effects. Rigid but flexible self‐supported films are easily obtained by filtering of these dispersions. As the electrical percolation threshold corresponds to sepiolite/GNP composites of 0.5:1 in weight, doping these systems with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) significantly enhances their electrical conductivity. The particular microporosity of the sepiolite component allows interactions with molecules, such as organic dyes, as well as polymers, such as biopolymers, opening the way to functional materials for advanced applications due to their inherent conductivity afforded by the GNP and MWCNTs carbonaceous components. In fact, using very small amount of MWCNT together with GNP can obtain composites with significant electrical conductivity, maintaining the enhanced mechanical properties, at a lower cost.