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Reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes nanohybrids as preformed reinforcement for polystyrene composites
Author(s) -
Wang Baichen,
Li Junjie,
Liu Yongna,
Gao Yu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.45054
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , carbon nanotube , oxide , polystyrene , composite material , hydrothermal circulation , nanocomposite , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , polymer , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , engineering , metallurgy
Three‐dimensional carbon nanohybrids constructed by reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared via simultaneous hydrothermal and chemical reduction reactions. The macroscopic rGO/CNTs monolith is used as the preformed reinforcement for polystyrene (PS) composites to function as the continuous conductive pathway. During hydrothermal reaction, interconnected network consisting of rGO and CNTs, driven by the hydrophobic and π‐π interactions, is formed and then frozen by the following freeze‐drying processing. Fourier transform infrared and X‐ray diffraction results confirm that CNTs play an important role in tuning the amphiphilicity and pore structure of the as‐prepared rGO/CNTs nanohybrids. rGO/CNTs/PS composites prepared via vacuum‐assisted impregnation process exhibit the highest electrical conductivity of 1.21 × 10 −3 S m −1 , which is 11 orders of magnitude higher than that of neat PS. The functional synergies of rGO and CNTs are identified to establish an efficient route for improving the electrical property of polymer based composites. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45054.