Enhancement of Tensile, Thermal and Barrier Properties of Polyphenylene Sulfide/Carboxylated Graphene Antibacterial Nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract Carboxylated graphene (CG) with functional group was blended with polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), CG enhanced the tensile, thermal properties, crystallinity and barrier performance of PPS. Through tensile test, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, evaluation of S. aureus inhibition, and barrier performance, the properties of pure PPS and PPS/CG nanocomposites were characterized and compared. The results showed that CG acted a role in heterogeneous nucleation and reinforcement. When the concentration of CG was 0.2%, the tensile strength, elongation at break, thermostability, crystallinity and water vapor permeability coefficients (WVPC) approached maximum values, and the microscopic morphology changed from the original brittle fracture to a relatively tough fracture. Compared with pure PPS, when CG was added to PPS at 0.2%, the tensile strength, elongation at break and WVPC of PPS were significantly increased by 23.9%, 17.2%, and 18.3% respectively. This improvement in barrier performance might be attributed to two reasons: (1) The presence of CG extended the penetration path of molecules; (2) The hydrogen bond from PPS matrix and CG nanofiller, so as to narrow the H2O transmission path. CG endows nanocomposites with antibacterial properties.