In-situ thermal reduction and effective reinforcement of graphene nanosheet/poly (ethylene glycol)/poly (lactic acid) nanocomposites

This study aims to achieve a molecule-level dispersion of graphene nanosheets (GNSs) and a maximum interfacial interaction between GNSs and a polymer matrix. GNS-reinforced poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)/poly (lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites are obtained by a facile and environment-friendly preparation method. Graphite oxide and GNSs are characterized by atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the state of dispersion of the GNS in the PEG/PLA matrix is distribution. The tensile strength and Young's modulus increases by 45% and 188%, respectively, with the addition of 4.0 wt% GNSs. The thermal stability of the GNS-based nanocomposites also improves. Differential scanning calorimetry indicates that GNSs have no remarkable effect on the crystallinity of the nanocomposites. The effective reinforcement of the nanocomposites is mainly attributed to the highly strong molecular-level dispersion of the GNSs in the polymer matrix. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.