Dorsa Parviz, Ziniu Yu, Ronald C. Hedden, Micah J. Green: Designer stabilizer for preparation of pristine graphene/polysiloxane films and networks

image_pdfimage_print

A designer polysiloxane-based stabilizer for graphene was used as the polymer matrix to prepare a highly conductive polymer film. To synthesize the stabilizer, 1-ethynylpyrene was grafted to the backbone of a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-co-(methylhydrosiloxane) random copolymer by Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation with a SiH:ethynyl ratio of 1.0:1.3. Graphene was stabilized in chloroform through the π-π interactions with the pyrene groups of the resulting copolymer. A graphene/polymer film was cast from the dispersion in chloroform. SEM and TEM images confirmed the homogeneous distribution of the graphene sheets in the film. The conductivity of this film with 4 wt% loading of graphene was measured to be 220 S/m, the first case of a melt-processable, conductive graphene/polymer film reported in the literature. When the ratio of SiH:ethynyl was changed to 1.7:1.0, the copolymer self-crosslinked at 110 ⁰C and resulted in a direct production of a conductive graphene/silicon elastomeric composite. The crosslinking reaction was observed by FT-IR spectroscopy and the network formation was confirmed by swelling and extraction of the product.

Copyright © 2013-2014 The University of Southern California