Effect of graphene nanoplatelets on the photo-oxidative behavior of PP based nanocomposites

Abstract

The photo-oxidation behavior of polymer nanocomposites depends not only on the photo-oxidation behavior of the matrix, but also on the chemical composition and on the physical properties of the nanoparticles and on the possible interactions between the two phases. Graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) are short stacks of individual layers of graphite that, even at low contents, strongly affects many properties of the thermoplastic matrix. Indeed, by GnP adding, also at low filler concentration (< 5 wt.%), the mechanical, heat-resistance, thermal and electrical properties of the polymer matrix can be surprisingly modified. Of course, the effects of these nanoparticles on the properties of the polymeric nanocomposites are mainly influenced by a good dispersion during processing and good distribution of the filler within the matrix. The carbonaceous substances are well known to be good photo-stabilizers and this behavior has been already reported for carbon black and carbon nanotubes while a very few number of papers are present in the literature as for the effect of GnP on the photo-oxidative behavior of polymer matrix [5]. In this work, the photo-oxidation behavior of nanocomposites of polypropylene (PP) and GnP was investigated at three different contents of GnP