Graphene incorporated poly(vinyl chloride) composites prepared by mechanical activation with enhanced electrical and thermo-mechanical properties

This study reports the improvement in electrical and thermomechanical properties of pristine poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by the incorporation of graphene (GN) resulting in GN/PVC composites via mechanical activation (MA) using dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as dispersant. Microstructure, electrical, and thermomechanical properties of GN/PVC were systematically investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and particle size distribution analysis revealed that high-energy ball milling destroyed the structure of pristine PVC and GN, without any visible agglomeration of GN in the resulting GN/PVC composites. At 0.13 wt% GN loading, the surface resistivity of GN/PVC composites was less than 3 x 10(8) omega/square, meeting requirements of commercial antistatic PVC materials. Moreover, GN/PVC composites showed enhanced mechanical properties, thermal stability, and glass transition temperature than pristine PVC. Credited to enhanced thermomechanical and electrical properties of the newly designed GN/PVC composites, they could be deemed as potential alternative to classical PVC-based antistatic materials in targeted applications. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 48375.