Thermo-mechanical properties of poly (vinyl chloride)/graphene oxide as high performance nanocomposites

Graphene oxide (GO) reinforced polyvinylchloride (PVC) nanocomposites were prepared by colloidal blending. Free standing PVC/GO nanocomposite films were used for mechanical, thermal and electrical characterization. It was observed that the strong interaction between PVC and GO via covalent bonding can help in achieving excellent reinforcement of a PVC matrix for fabrication of high performance nanocomposites. A significant improvement in the mechanical properties was observed as a function of GO loading. The tensile strength and Young's Modulus of the nanocomposite films was increased whereas (%) elongation was decreased by 32.15% as a function of GO loading. The improvement in mechanical properties may be due to homogeneity of the nanocomposites and strong interfacial interaction between GO and PVC matrix. Incorporation of GO into PVC matrix results in an improvement in the thermal stability of the composite films, as demonstrated by TGA analysis. The dielectric properties were investigated in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 35 MHz and temperature 40-150 degrees C. The electrical properties of composite films demonstrated stability in polarization across wide ranges of frequency and temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.