Composites of graphene oxide and epoxy resin assuming a uniform 3D graphene oxide network structure

Abstract

Graphene based composites usually show unique interior structures, extraordinary properties and diverse applications. In this work, with waterborne epoxy resin and an aqueous suspension of graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials, composites of graphene oxide and epoxy resin (GO/ER) with different GO to ER ratios were prepared. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the as-obtained composites have unique structures in which the GO sheets assemble into three-dimensional (3D) networks. It was also illustrated that the mechanical properties, the glass transition temperatures (T_g) and thermal conductivities could be tuned by varying the content of GO in the composites. For instance, the mechanical strength and elastic modulus of the GO/ER composites containing 2% (in weight) GO were increased by 50% and 19.6%; the T_g was increased by 15.59 °C; the thermal conductivity was improved by 1.4 fold in comparison to the bare epoxy resin.