title: Novel PEG functionalized graphene nanosheets: enhancement of dispersibility and thermal stability.
abstract: A series of polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized graphene sheet hybrid materials (FGHMs) have been successfully synthesized via ester linkages. Interestingly, our products can be dispersed in both polar/protic solvents and nonpolar/nonprotic ones, which differ significantly from previously reported systems and are of great value in the wide-spread application of these "carbon nanosheet" based materials by solution-phase processing. Furthermore, the addition of PEG-modified carbon nanosheets as nanofillers significantly improves the thermal stability of the bulk polymers. In our case, an increase of 35 K in thermal stability can be obtained for PEG4000 after filling with as low as 1 wt % of the PEG modified carbon sheets, suggesting their great potential as novel nanofillers in industry.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Soft Chemistry and Functional Materials, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210094, China.
authors.forename: Shupeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Xujie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006108:Graphite