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Preparation and characterization of reduced graphene oxide grafted by alkyl chains with different lengths for application in dielectric polymer nanocomposites

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Abstract

The main challenges in polymer composites containing conductive fillers such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nano-platelets are proper dispersion of these particles and reduced dissipation of energy due to electrical loss in the bulk of composites. Surface modification is an effective method to address these challenges. However, the proper structure and adequate lengths of grafted alkyl chains and the corresponding changes in electrical properties of the particles before adding to the polymer matrix with desired properties need to be further investigated. In this study, chemical modification of rGO platelets with short and long alkyl chains was carried out to design modified particles (mrGO) with controlled electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity before incorporating them into a polyacrylic matrix. Alkyl-silanes with chain lengths of 3 and 16 carbon atoms as short chains and poly (butyl acrylate) (PBA) as long chains were grafted on the rGO surface. The successful modification of rGO was evaluated by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Electrical conductivity for mrGOs decreased as the chain length increased, especially for PBA chains, due to a significant reduction in the long-range movement of electrons. Dielectric relaxation spectra of rGOs modified by short chains followed the Drude model, whereas the Debye-type dielectric relaxation was observed for the matrix-free polymer-grafted rGO nanocomposites. Finally, the dielectric properties of acrylic copolymer composites containing 0.5 wt% of mrGOs were examined. Comparing three types of particles, incorporating the polymer-grafted rGO into the polymer matrix resulted in a 47% increase in dielectric permittivity along with a minor increase in dielectric loss, which was less significant in other composites. These composites can be used as high-k materials for energy storage and conversion applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, P.O.Box 14115-114, Iran

    Leila Noein, Shima Jalali, Fatemeh Khakbaz & Mehdi Razzaghi-Kashani

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R3, Canada

    Shima Jalali

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  1. Leila Noein
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LN, SJ and FK. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LN. MR-K contributed to supervision, conceptualization, methodology, investigation, validation, resources, writing review and editing.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Razzaghi-Kashani.

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Noein, L., Jalali, S., Khakbaz, F. et al. Preparation and characterization of reduced graphene oxide grafted by alkyl chains with different lengths for application in dielectric polymer nanocomposites. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 197 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-11976-z

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