ABSTRACT
The effects of dopamine reduced graphene oxide (pDop-rGO) on the curing activity and mechanical properties of epoxy-based composites were evaluated. Taking advantage of self-polymerization of mussel-inspired dopamine, pDop-rGO was prepared through simultaneous functionalization and reduction of graphene oxide (GO) via polydopamine coating. Benefiting from the universal binding ability of polydopamine, good dispersion of pDop-rGO in epoxy matrix was able to be achieved as the content of pDop-rGO being below 0.2 wt %. Curing kinetics of epoxy composites with pDop-rGO were systematically studied by nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Compared to the systems of neat epoxy or epoxy composites containing GO, epoxy composites loaded with pDop-rGO showed lower activation energy (Eα) over the range of cure (α). It revealed that the amino-bearing pDop-rGO was able to react with epoxy matrix and enhance the curing reactions as an amine-type curing agent. The nature of the interactions at GO-epoxy interface was further evaluated by Raman spectroscopy, confirming the occurrence of chemical bonding. The strengthened interfacial adhesion between pDop-rGO and epoxy matrix thus enhanced the effective stress transfer in the composites. Accordingly, the tensile and flexural properties of EP/pDop-rGO composites were enhanced due to both the well dispersion and strong interfacial bonding of pDop-rGO in epoxy matrix.
ABSTRACT
The direct fabrication of hybrid nanofibres composed of poly(methyl methacrylate)-grafted SiO2 (SiO2-PMMA) nanospheres via electrospinning was investigated in detail. SiO2-PMMA nanospheres were successfully prepared, with the SiO2 nanospheres synthesized via the Stober method, followed by in situ surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA). Electrospinning was carried out with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as the solvent to disperse SiO2-PMMA nanospheres. The size of the SiO2 core, the molecular weight of the PMMA shell and the concentration of the SiO2-PMMA/DMF solution all had substantial effects on the morphology and structure of electrospun nanofibres composed of SiO2-PMMA nanospheres. When these determining factors were well-tailored, it was found that one-dimensional necklace-like nanofibres were obtained, with SiO2-PMMA nanospheres aligned one by one along the fibre. The successful fabrication of nanofibres by directly electrospinning the SiO2-PMMA/DMF solution verified that polymer-grafted particles possess polymer-like characteristics, which endowed them with the ability to be processed into desirable shapes and structures.
