POLYPROPYLENE/GRAPHENE OXIDE NANOCOMPOSITES: INFLUENCE OF ADDING POLYPROPYLENE GRAFTED WITH MALEIC ANHYDRIDE ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Abstract

In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was first obtained by chemical exfoliation. Then it was melted by hot compression with polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA). The PP-g-MA/GO (1% and 3% GO wt.%) were applied to prepare polypropylene/PP-g-MA/GO nanocomposites by extrusion. Pelletized samples obtained by extrusion were stamped from plates obtained by compression in a bench press and these materials were characterized through FTIR and tensile tests. The GO was also characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and FTIR. The results indicated that GO acted as a plasticizer, reducing the mechanical property values in comparison with pure polypropylene.