Preparation of silanized graphene/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites in situ copolymerization and its mechanical properties

Due to the aggregation or restacking of graphene and the weak interactions between pristine graphene and polymeric matrices, a method to chemically functionalize graphene nanosheets by silylation was developed in this study. The silanized graphene oxide sheets were reduced to produce well water-soluble graphene derivatives after graphene oxide sheets silanized with 3-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS). The MPS-graphene oxide (MPS-GO) and MPS-reduced graphene oxide (MPS-RGO) could be redispersed in polar solvents, which could facilitate their incorporation into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) through in situ copolymerization method. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied after fabrication of the graphene/PMMA film through hot press process. And the MPS-RGO/PMMA composites with 0.5 wt.% of MPS-RGO incorporation lead to a ∼44% increases in tensile strength than that of the reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/PMMA composites.