Synthesis of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Reinforced by Graphene Nanoplates

Abstract

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) was used as a nanofiller in Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) synthesized by the Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) method. The first step in the synthesis of the PMMA/GNPs was the dispersion of GNPs in the PMMA liquid monomers by combining the solutions so that GNPs had superior mechanical properties, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity also lower density of mass. Then the crosslinked PMMA/GNPs nanocomposite samples were synthesized by using the in-situ polymerization method. However, there was a challenging technical problem in the application of GNPs (at a large amount) in the polymer. For the purpose of benefiting from the advantageous properties of GNPs (especially in bulk quantities) at PMMA, the major problem at the synthesis of PMMA/GNPs nanocomposite was the GNPs dispersion in the polymer matrix. This research has focused on solving that dispersion problem with the aim of enhancing the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite by utilizing the ATRP method as the effective production technic. The structural characterization of PMMA/GNPs nanocomposite was performed for the examination of the integration of GNPs in PMMA. The surface morphology of the nanocomposite was analyzed using SEM images. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) as a non-destructive test method was used to examine the changes in the crystalline properties of the nanocomposite structure with the rise of the GNPs amount in PMMA. The bonding interactions with each other were investigated by using Raman analysis.