Graphenated Ceramic Particles as Functional Fillers for Nonisocyanate Polyhydroxyurethane Composites

Graphenation of corundum and silicon carbide filler particles simultaneously improves mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of nonisocyanate polyhydroxyurethanes (NIPU) composites prepared by amine cure of polyfunctional cyclic carbonates. Typically, the ceramic fillers coated with either glucose, polydopamine, or graphite oxide (GO) are thermolyzed to produce an ultrathin graphene shell around the ceramic core, as verified by transmission electron microscopy. As compared to a blend of corundum particles with the thermally reduced graphite oxide (TRGO) nanofiller, graphenation of corundum with GO at a similar total carbon content significantly improves the Young's modulus (7000 MPa, +184%) of trimethylolpropane glycidylether carbonate (TMPGC) cured with diethylenetriamine (DETA). Moreover, up to 30 wt% of the graphenated corundum filler is uniformly dispersed, whereas a few percent of neat TRGO account for intolerable high viscosity. Furthermore, NIPU composites containing graphenated ceramic fillers exhibit electrical conductivities of up 2.58 x 10(-5)S m(-1)well below the percolation threshold of neat TRGO in the same NIPU matrix. Hence, the graphenation of inorganic particles represents a facile and universal synthetic route toward tailoring functional fillers and combines the two worlds of functionalized graphene and inorganic fillers in an economic way by eliminating the tedious syntheses and handling typical for graphene nanofillers.