Graphene oxide modification for enhancing high-density polyethylene properties: a comparison between solvent reaction and melt mixing

Graphene oxide (GO) was chemically modified in xylene with dodecyl amine and hydrazine monohydrate to obtain reduced functionalized graphene oxide (RFGO). Composites of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and GO were made via solvent reaction, whereas both melt mixing and solvent reaction were used for HDPE-RFGO composites for comparison purposes. Elemental and thermal analysis showed the success of GO modification in grafting amine functionalities onto its structure and restoring most of the original graphene C=C bonds. A significant increase in mechanical properties, thermal stability, and crystallization behavior was observed for HDPE-RFGO (solvent) compared with HDPE and HDPE-GO, proving that homogeneous dispersion of RFGO in the polymer matrix and strong interactions between them resulted in facilitated stress transfer, delayed thermal degradation, and more efficient nucleating effect in inducing the crystal growth of HDPE. A comparison of HDPE-RFGO properties enhancement between the melt mixing method and the solvent reaction method showed that, apart from mechanical behavior, the RFGO contribution was the same, suggesting that the optimization of the ecofriendlier approach (melt) could eventually lead to its total use for the mass production of high-performance, cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly graphene-based thermoplastic polyolefin nanocomposites suitable for highly demanding industrial applications.