Development of Advanced Elastomeric Conductive Nanocomposites by Selective Chemical Affinity of Modified Graphene
2016
Salavagione, Horacio J. | Quiles-Díaz, Susana | Enrique-Jimenez, Patricia | Martínez, Gerardo | Ania, Fernando | Flores, Araceli | Gómez-Fatou, Marián A.
The preparation of conductive nanocomposites of poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) (SEBS) triblock copolymers with chemically modified graphene is reported. Graphene has been functionalized with short polyethylene brushes by thiol–ene click chemistry in order to enhance the interactions of the filler with the ethylenic phase of the block copolymer. The presence of graphene modifies the morphology of the SEBS domains, reducing their size and promoting an isotropic distribution of cylinders arranged in hexagonal packing, as shown by SAXS, AFM, and TEM. The elastomeric character of SEBS persists in the nanocomposites with filler content below 1 vol %, retaining high elongation at break. In addition, the percolation threshold for electrical conductivity is found to be slightly above 0.7 vol %, reaching conductivity values of ∼10–³ S cm–¹ for ∼2.5 vol % of filler. These materials represent a new class of flexible conductors that open promising opportunities for applications like actuators or bodily motion sensors.
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