Reduced Graphene Oxide-Induced Polyethylene Crystallization in Solution and Nanocomposites

We report epitaxial crystallization of polyethylene (PE) on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets via a controlled solution crystallization method. Polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to investigate morphology of RGO-induced PE crystals. The PE edge-on crystals formed from randomly distributed rodlike nuclei on the basal plane of RGO nanosheets and further grew into larger lamellae with an average dimension of a few hundreds of nanometers. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern revealed that the c-axis of polymer chain is parallel to the basal plane of the RGO nanosheets. PE/RGO nanocomposites (PGNs) with different RGO loadings were fabricated through solution crystallization/precipitation using the PE-decorated RGO hybrid as the precursor. Both nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behaviors of PGNs were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Crystallization kinetics of PGNs was substantially accelerated in the presence of 2D RGO nanosheets. Dramatic improvement of thermal stability was found for PE in the presence of a small amount of RGO nanosheets.