Enhanced mechanical, thermal and solvent resistance of silicone rubber reinforced by organosilica nanoparticles modified graphene oxide

To improve the mechanical and solvent resistance of silicone rubber (SR), the graphene oxide (GO) was proposed to reinforce the SR. GO was modified with organosilica nanoparticles which were synthesized by hydrolysis condensation of triethoxyvinylsilane (TEVS) to improve compatibility and interface interaction with matrix. The structure and morphologies of the organosilica-modified graphene oxide (MGO) was fully characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), Raman, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermal analysis (TGA) methods. It was found that TEVS was successfully hydrolysis condensation and organosilica nanoparticles with narrow size distribution were formed on the surface of graphene oxide nanosheets. The MGO was adopted to reinforce SR composites through physical mixing method. Raman mapping images confirmed that the improved distribution of MGO nanosheets than neat GO in SR. The mechanical, thermal and solvent resistance of MGO/SR composite was thoroughly studied. Compared with neat silicone rubber, the tensile strength of the silicone rubber composite material was improved by 2.1 MPa when the packing content was 20phr. Also, solvent resistance, the thermal stability and thermal conductivity of the MGO reinforced SR were increased by a certain margin. The mechanism of the improved mechanical and solvent resistance was also studied.