Structure and Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide/Natural Rubber Latex Nanocomposites

In this work, the morphology and properties of graphene modified natural rubber (NR) was studied. Graphite oxide was chemically reduced with poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) as a stabilizer, then the obtained graphene was blended with NR using latex technique. It is observed that a stable graphene suspension was fabricated by chemical reduction of graphite oxide in the presence of surfactant, while graphene was dispersed homogeneous in NR matrix as tested by WAXD and TEM. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that storage modulus enhanced dramatically after the incorporation of graphene due to the high surface area of graphene and the exfoliated structure of graphene in NR. The electrical property and thermal conductive properties of NR/graphene nanocomposites improved significantly following the increase in graphene concentration.