Polyethylene Terephthalate-Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites: Synthesis and Characterization

Abstract

A promising method for large-scale production is the polymerization process in the presence of GO dispersion combined with in situ GO reduction. By using in situ melt poly-condensation of poly ethylene terephathalate and simultaneous reduction of injected graphene oxide, a composite of poly ethylene terephathalate packed with reduced graphene oxide was produced. Rotational rheometry was used to perform the rheological test, which was then contrasted with virgin poly ethylene terephthalate. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the melting and crystallization of the reduced graphene oxide-polyethylene terephthalate composite. The morphology of the reduced graphene oxide–polyethylene terephthalate composite was investigated using optical microscopy. The reduced graphene oxide was separated from the reduced graphene oxide–polyethylene terephthalate composite using thermo gravimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Polyethylene terephthalate is predicted to graft onto the reduced graphene oxide sheets because tri-fluoro acetic acid was unable to extract all of the polymer from the reduced graphene oxide particles. The rheological behavior of the melted reduced graphene oxide-poly ethylene terephthalate composite supports this theory.