Simultaneous functionalization and reduction of graphene oxide with polyetheramine and its electrically conductive epoxy nanocomposites

Simultaneous functionalization and reduction of graphene oxide (GO) is realized by refluxing of GO suspension with polyetheramine (D2000) followed by thermal treatment at 120 A degrees C. Compared to GO, the D2000-treated GO (GO-D2000) becomes hydrophobic, thermally stable and highly conductive with an electrical conductivity of 11 S/m, which is almost 8 orders of magnitude higher than that of GO. Due to the high conductivity and improved dispersion of GO-D2000, its epoxy nanocomposites exhibit a sharp transition from electrically insulating to conducting with a low percolation threshold of 0.71 vol%. With 3.6 wt% GO-D2000, the glass transition temperature of the epoxy nanocomposite is 27 K higher than that of neat epoxy.