Preparation of Graphene Quantum Dots Decorated Montmorillonite to Reinforce Fire Retardancy of Polystyrene

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) areunique zero-dimensional carbonmaterials that possess a graphene-like plane structure and are easyto be functionalized. GQDs can strongly attach to the basal planevia & pi;-& pi; stacking, which might be beneficial toimprove the dispersion in the polystyrene (PS) matrix. In this study,montmorillonite (MMT) was decorated with graphene quantum dots tocreate nanohybrids, which were then incorporated into a PS matrixvia a simple solvent blending-precipitation method. The resulted nanohybridswere uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix and demonstrated enhancedinterfacial interaction between nanoadditives and PS. After the additionof nanohybrids, the flame retardancy of the PS nanocomposites wassignificantly increased, which can be attributed to the physical barriereffect. Furthermore, the storage modulus of the nanocomposites withnanohybrids was further enhanced compared to that with MMT alone.This work proposes a novel method to modify MMT and produce well-dispersedpolymeric materials with enhanced fire safety. Furthermore, this feasibleand effective decoration method offers possibilities for broadeningthe applications of MMT, and it could also be extended to modify otherclay materials with different functional groups for various applications.

Automated summary

Graphene quantum dots were decorated onto montmorillonite to create nanohybrids, which were then incorporated into a polystyrene matrix. The resulting nanocomposites showed enhanced interfacial interaction and improved flame retardancy. This study proposes a novel method to modify montmorillonite and produce well-dispersed polymeric materials with enhanced fire safety.