Synthesis of sustainable, lightweight and electrically conductive polymer brushes grafted multi-layer graphene oxide

This work reports the synthesis of poly (monomethyl itaconate) grafted multi-layer graphene oxide (PMMI-g-GO) by atom transfer radical polymerization using activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET-ATRP). PMMIg-GO presents outstanding properties, such as a high electrical conductivity (5.04 S m(-1)), low number of stacked graphene layers (6) and I-G/I-2D ratio of 2.05 estimated from Raman spectrum, which indicates the high quality of PMMI-g-GO as a graphenic material. In addition, polymer brushes based on PMMI represent a new green alternative for the development of polymer composite materials, since the monomer used for their production is obtained from a renewable source. Interestingly, the PMMI-g-GO nanomaterial is also capable of storing Li+ ions without the need of using electron conductive additives that are usually employed in the electrode's composition of conventional lithium ion batteries.