POLYANILINE/GRAPHENE NANOPLATELETS-SILVER (PANI/GNPs-Ag) NANOCOMPOSITES TREATED VIA NON-COVALENT SURFACE FUNCTIONALIZATION METHOD

Nor Aisah Khalid; Jeefferie  Abd Razak; Mohd Muzafar  Ismail; Moayad Hussein  Flaifel; Poppy  Puspitasari

Nor Aisah Khalid Fakulti Kejuruteraan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Jeefferie Abd Razak Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Mohd Muzafar Ismail Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Moayad Hussein Flaifel Saudi Arabia
Poppy Puspitasari Indonesia

Keywords: Polyaniline, graphene nanoplatelets, nanocomposite, morphological, non-covalent

Abstract

PANI/GNPs is one of the most promising conductive polymer nanocomposite materials due to its unique properties, easy synthesis, and low cost. The main aim of this study was to prepare and characterize the morphological and non-covalent functionalization of GNPs nanofiller for improving the matrix-filler interaction between the PANI matrix and GNPs nanofiller. PANI/GNP nanocomposites were prepared via oxidation polymerization of aniline with various GNP nanofiller loadings at 0.25 wt.% into 1.00 wt.% of non-covalently treated GNPs. Subsequently, the PANI/GNPs nanocomposite with excellent conductor of electricity has been selected for producing PANI/GNPs-Ag hybrid-filled nanocomposites with variable Ag nanofiller loadings. The resulting PANI nanocomposite filled with 1.00 wt.% weight percent Ag nanofiller and non-covalently treated GNPs has been characterized by SEM, TEM, and FTIR analysis. SEM micrographs show that GNPs nanofillers show good interaction and dispersion within the PANI matrix. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated the non-covalent surface treatment influencing polymer chains in suspensions and preventing the re-agglomeration of GNPs. FTIR peaks confirmed the formation of the C-N stretching band of aromatic amine, the C-C stretching vibration in the quinoid and benzenoid rings and the C-C stretching vibration of the pyrene ring and carboxylic acid. Overall, it has been proven that the combination of conductive polymer and metal-GNP hybrid composite could change the functional group and physical characteristics of PANI-based nanocomposites.