Modified/Reduced (RGO) and In Situ Preparation of Unsaturated Polyester/Graphene Nanocomposites, Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Unsaturated polyester UN-PES resin is currently one of the most widely used thermosetting polymers. UNPESresins possess inferior stiffness and tensile strength compared to other resins like epoxy, which limit theirapplication in certain industries. Therefore, various fillers have been used in order to improve the properties of the UNPESresin composites till now. Graphene, a one-atom-thick 2D layer of Sp2 bonded carbons due to its superiormechanical, thermal and ultra-high surface area is outstanding filler in fabricating various materials such asnanocomposites .In the present work, UN- PES/Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) nanocomosites are prepared by in situpolymerization method for better dispersion of the nanometeric fillers inside the resin. Prepared nanocomosites arecharacterized by FTIR, XRD, TEM, SEM, TGA and contact angle measurments. The effect of RGO and GO on Tg ofthe nanocomposites has been investigated by DMA.It was observed that GO containing nanocomposites has higher Tgwith respect to neat resin and higher modulus while RGO containing resins showed a reverse trend. This provided aproof that GO nanoparticles clearly have better interactions with the resin compared to RGO.

Keywords:

Nanocomposites , Polyester , Graphene , Graphite Oxide , Reduced Graphene Oxide