Preparation and characterization of an electromagnetic material: The graphene nanosheet/polythiophene composite

An electromagnetic material of the graphene nanosheet (GN)/polythiophene (PT) composite has been prepared by in situ chemical polymerization method. The structures of the as-prepared composites are characterized by the X-ray diffraction and the Fourier transform infrared. The morphologies have been analyzed by the scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy. The electromagnetic properties have been tested by the four-probe conductivity tester and the vibrating sample magnetometer. The results show that the GN/PT composites with different mass ratio of GN to thiophene (Th) have the irregular-layered structures. When the mass ratio of GN to Th is 0.4, the magnetic saturation value of the composites achieves 15.33 emu/g, and the conductivity reaches 12.17 x 10(-3) S/cm. Based on the experimental results, a probable formation mechanism for the GN/PT composites has been proposed. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.