Facile synthesis of glucose-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (GFRGO)/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposites for improving thermal and mechanical properties

In this work, we provided a facile pathway to the modification of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets by glucose as a biologically active molecule through covalent functionalization. Then, flexible and smooth poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/glucose-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (PVA/GFRGO) nanocomposite (NC) films were fabricated using 0, 1, 3 and 5 wt% concentrations of RGO-glucose in water. As a reducing sugar, glucose can reduce graphene oxide. Thus, graphene oxide was converted to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by hydrazine hydrate. Then, RGO was functionalized with glucose to achieve good dispersion in the polymer matrix. Due to the increased interfacial interaction between GFRGO and PVA matrix, the prepared PVA/GFRGO NCs showed a 52% increase in tensile strength and a 47% improvement in Young's modulus by adding of only 5 wt% of GFRGO. Thermal analysis results showed that the thermal stability of the PVA/GFRGO NCs increased compared to the neat PVA film.