FUNCTIONALIZED POLYETHYLENE AS PI COUPLING AGENT FOR BETTER DISPERSION OF EXFOLIATED GRAPHENE NANOPLATELETS IN HIGH DENSITY POLYEHTYLENE MATRIX

摘要

Previous work shows exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) do not disperse well within high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix which results in poor enhancement of conductive and mechanical properties. To improve the dispersion of GNP in HDPE, functionalized polyethylene (PE-g-Py) which is capable of π-π electron interaction with the basal plane of GNP has been synthesized as the pi coupling agent. Mechanical, electrical and morphological characterization of HDPE/GNP nanocomposites in the presence of PE-g-Py have demonstrated the efficiency of this pi coupling agent to promote the dispersion of GNP which leads to considerably improved mechanical property and significantly reduced electrical percolation threshold.