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Nitrogen‐Doped Multilayer Graphene as Functional Filler for Carbon/Polyamide 12 Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Beckert Michaela,
Tölle Folke Johannes,
Bruchmann Bernd,
Mülhaupt Rolf
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201500020
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , graphite oxide , nanocomposite , thermal decomposition , polyamide , graphene oxide paper , oxide , graphite , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , composite material , nitrogen , carbon fibers , chemical engineering , doping , composite number , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , optoelectronics , engineering , metallurgy
Herein, we report on the facile thermolysis process for producing nitrogen‐doped few‐layer graphene (CN) as a functional filler derived from graphite oxide (GO) and cyanamide (CA). The nitrogen content is governed by the thermolysis temperature and CA content. As compared to conventional thermally reduced GO, the nitrogen doping by GO/CA thermolysis at 800 °C accounts for a substantial increase of electrical filler conductivity from 48 to 467 S · cm −1 . According to XPS measurements, pyridinic, pyrrolic, and graphitic nitrogen groups were incorporated into graphene during thermolysis. Graphene/polyamide 12 (PA12) composites containing between 1 and 5 wt% were prepared by melt compounding. At 5 wt% graphene filler content, the Young's modulus was increased by +53% with respect to PA12. Whereas nitrogen doping did not affect mechanical properties of graphene/PA12, it greatly improved the electrical conductivity of both graphene and the corresponding graphene/PA12 nanocomposites. Hence, the nitrogen doping of graphene holds a great promise for improving the performance of functional graphene fillers.