Nanocomposite Films of Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Grafted Graphene Oxide/Poly(vinyl alcohol) for Gas Barrier Film Applications

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composites containing graphene oxide (GO) functionalized with PVA were synthesized via the esterification of the carboxylic groups of GO. The presence of PVA-grafted GO (PVA-g-GO) in the PVA matrix induced strong interactions between the chains of the PVA matrix and allowed the PVA-g-GO to be uniformly dispersed throughout the matrix. The grafting of PVA to GO increased the gas barrier properties of the GO/PVA composites because of the increased compatibility between GO and PVA. The PVA-g-GO/PVA composites were used to coat the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) films. These coated films exhibited excellent gas barrier properties; the film containing 0.3 wt% of PVA-g-GO had an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of 0.025 cc/(m(2) . day) and an optical transmittance of 83.8%. As a result, PVA-g-GO/PVA composites that exhibited enhanced gas barrier properties were prepared with a solution mixing method.