Thermal and barrier properties of nanocomposites prepared from poly(butylene succinate) reinforced with ZnO-decorated graphene

In this work, the effects of different ZnO-decorated graphene (Graphene-ZnO) proportions on the comprehensive properties of Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) nanocomposites were investigated. The results show that the nanocomposites have stronger mechanical properties, higher thermal stability, greater crystallinity, better barrier ability, and excellent antibacterial property due to the influence of Graphene-ZnO. The tensile strength, crystallinity, melting temperature, thermal stability and barrier performance of the nanocomposites reached the maximum when Graphene-ZnO with a content of 0.2 phr was added. Compared with pure PBS, when Graphene-ZnO was added to PBS at 0.2 phr, the tensile strength, yield strength, elongation at break and moisture barrier performance of PBS were significantly increased by 22.5%, 31.34% ,62.84% and 42.57% respectively. This improvement in barrier performance might be attributed to the presence of Graphene-ZnO extended the penetration path of molecules and the coordination from PBS and Graphene-ZnO, so as to narrow the H2O transmission path. The results of the buried soil test show that the weight loss rate of the nanocomposite increased with increase Graphene-ZnO content, which may be caused by boundary defects between nanofiller and matrix, and poor compatibility at high content of Graphene-ZnO.