Issue 6, 2017

Wide concentration liquid crystallinity of graphene oxide aqueous suspensions with interacting polymers

Abstract

Graphene oxides (GOs), an oxygenated derivative of graphene, spontaneously undergo monolayer exfoliation in water, and thus, form liquid crystalline (LC) suspensions. Unfortunately, the resultant suspensions vitrify at around a 1 wt% composition, which commonly acts as an obstacle for GO-based material fabrication, while degrading the molecular ordering and relevant material properties. Here, we systematically investigate the phase behaviour and structural evolution of GO LC suspensions under various experimental conditions and disclose how the glass transition of GO dispersions is affected particularly in the presence of strongly interacting polymers. The supplementary polymer additives can effectively retard the ‘glass transition’ of a GO suspension, broaden the concentration range for a nematic LC phase toward lower and higher concentration ranges and dramatically decrease the viscosity of the suspension down to the 1/100–1/1000 level. Extensive small-angle X-ray scattering and rheological measurements are employed to characterize the molecular level GO structures in LC suspensions.

Graphical abstract: Wide concentration liquid crystallinity of graphene oxide aqueous suspensions with interacting polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
09 aug 2017
Accepted
25 sep 2017
First published
25 sep 2017

Mater. Horiz., 2017,4, 1157-1164

Wide concentration liquid crystallinity of graphene oxide aqueous suspensions with interacting polymers

Y. H. Shim, K. E. Lee, T. J. Shin, S. O. Kim and S. Y. Kim, Mater. Horiz., 2017, 4, 1157 DOI: 10.1039/C7MH00624A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements