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Water Sorption and Diffusion in (Reduced) Graphene Oxide‐Alginate Biopolymer Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Vilcinskas Karolis,
Zlopasa Jure,
Jansen Kaspar M. B.,
Mulder Fokko M.,
Picken Stephen J.,
Koper Ger J. M.
Publication year - 2016
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.201600154
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , oxide , nanocomposite , sorption , composite material , biopolymer , chemical engineering , diffusion , fick's laws of diffusion , swelling , composite number , nanotechnology , adsorption , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , metallurgy , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
The water sorption and diffusion in (reduced) graphene oxide‐alginate composites of various compositions is analyzed. Water sorption of sodium alginate can be significantly reduced by the inclusion of graphene oxide sheets due to the formation of an extensive hydrogen bonding network between oxygenated groups. Crosslinking alginate with divalent metal ions and the presence of reduced graphene oxide can further improve the swelling resistance due to the strong interactions between metal ions, alginate, and filler sheets. Depending on conditions and composition, the overall water barrier properties of alginate composites improve upon (reduced) graphene oxide filling, making them attractive for moisture barrier coating applications. Water sorption kinetics in all alginate composites indicate a non‐Fickian diffusion process that can be accurately described by the Variable Surface Concentration model. In addition, the water barrier properties of sodium alginate‐graphene oxide composites can be adequately predicted using a simple model that takes the orientational order of filler sheets and their effective aspect ratio into account.