Simultaneous Surface Modification and Chemical Reduction of Graphene Oxide Using Ethylene Diamine

We report a simple and facile method of reducing and modifying graphene oxide (GO) simultaneously using ethylene diamine (ED). The ED-modified and reduced GO (denoted as E-rGO) as well as the GO reduced by hydrazine hydrate (denoted as H-rGO) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that as-prepared E-rGO exhibited good dispersibility in water and water-borne polyurethane (denoted as WPU) matrix and improve greatly the mechanical properties of WPU matrix. Moreover, E-rGO showed a high electric conductivity close to that of H-rGO after ultrasonic treatment for 12 h, which indicated that ED had the desired reducibility. The present approach could help to broaden the application field of graphene nanosheets and provide a new opportunity for developing high performance graphene/polymer-matrix composites.