Tailoring hydrophobicity properties of polyvinylidene fluoride infused graphene composite films

Abstract

Abstract In this work, a synthesis to improve surface wetting resistance composites via infusion of graphene (G) structure into the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrices is introduced. Graphene is incorporated into the PVDF matrix with a percentage of 1.0 wt.% up to 2.5 wt.% using simple solvent blending and dry-casting methods. The morphological and structural properties of the graphene infused into PVDF are investigated using a variety of characterization techniques, including field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. The tensile properties of graphene infused into the PVDF matrix are investigated using the INSTRON Universal test. The need for hydrophobicity performance on polyvinylidene fluoride infused graphene (PVDF/G) composite is also reported. Based on our evaluation, we ascertain that the PVDF/G-1.5% produces extremely high values for ultimate tensile stress and Young's modulus, amounting, respectively, to 90.24 MPa and 5720.88 MPa. The PVDF/G composite exhibits surface roughness and increases water contact angle (CA) by 20° more than pure PVDF. Therefore, it is possible to deploy PVDF/G composite thin films with suitable mechanical strength and hydrophobicity in biomedical material-based engineering applications.