title: Ultra-high dispersion of graphene in polymer composite via solvent free fabrication and functionalization.
abstract: The drying process of graphene-polymer composites fabricated by solution-processing for excellent dispersion is time consuming and suffers from a restacking problem. Here, we have developed an innovative method to fabricate polymer composites with well dispersed graphene particles in the matrix resin by using solvent free powder mixing and in-situ polymerization of a low viscosity oligomer resin. We also prepared composites filled with up to 20 wt% of graphene particles by the solvent free process while maintaining a high degree of dispersion. The electrical conductivity of the composite, one of the most significant properties affected by the dispersion, was consistent with the theoretically obtained effective electrical conductivity based on the mean field micromechanical analysis with the Mori-Tanaka model assuming ideal dispersion. It can be confirmed by looking at the statistical results of the filler-to-filler distance obtained from the digital processing of the fracture surface images that the various oxygenated functional groups of graphene oxide can help improve the dispersion of the filler and that the introduction of large phenyl groups to the graphene basal plane has a positive effect on the dispersion.
authors.affiliation: Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ye Ji
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.affiliation: Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Han-Ik
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Joh
authors.affiliation: Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jaesang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Advanced Materials (RIAM), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul. 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Hyoun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sungho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Cheol Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 1] Carbon Convergence Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Jeonbuk. 565-905, Republic of Korea [2] Nanomaterials Science and Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Advanced Materials (RIAM), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul. 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Ryoun
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Youn