Large improvement in the mechanical properties of polyurethane nanocomposites based on a highly concentrated graphite nanoplate/polyol masterbatch

Abstract

In this study, a highly concentrated graphite nanoplate (GNP)/polyol masterbatch was prepared by the exfoliation of natural graphite in an aqueous system using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and the replacement of aqueous solution with a polyol, viz. poly(tetramethylene ether glycol), and it was subsequently used to prepare polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites by simple dilution. The polyol in the masterbatch efficiently prevented the aggregation of GNPs during the preparation of PU nanocomposite. In addition, the dispersed GNPs in the masterbatch exhibited rheological behavior of lyotropic liquid crystalline materials. In this study, the manufacture and application methods of the GNP/polyol masterbatch were discussed, enabling the facile manufacture of the PU/GNP nanocomposites with excellent mechanical properties. In addition, the manner in which the GNP alignment affected the microphase separation of PU in the nanocomposites was investigated, which determined the improvement in the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. High-performance PU/GNP nanocomposites are thought to be manufactured from the GNP/polyol masterbatch by the simple dilution to 0.1 wt% GNP in the nanocomposite.