Tailoring the physical properties of nanocomposite films by the insertion of graphene and other nanoparticles

New polymeric nanocomposite films containing graphene and Ag, Au or ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized, and their morphological, thermal, surface and dielectric properties were studied. Graphene was obtained by the sonication method, which allows to obtain real graphene, without any chemical manipulation of graphite. This method preserves graphene lattice symmetry, which is responsible for its exceptional properties. The interaction between graphene and the other nanoparticles (NPs) confers to these polymeric films interesting characteristics, thus making them suitable for different applications. For example, the wetting property can be tuned by the insertion of nanofillers. Furthermore, the presence of these latter increases the dielectric strength of the polymer films. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.