Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450

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Composites Part B
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesb

Electrical and mechanical properties of antistatic PVC films containing

multi-layer graphene
Han Wang a, b, Guiyuan Xie a, b, Minghe Fang a, Zhe Ying a, Yu Tong b, You Zeng a, *
a
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, People's Republic of
China
b
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, People's Republic of China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In order to explore practical application of graphene as novel conductive fillers in the filed of composite
Received 6 January 2015 materials, we prepared anti-static multi-layer graphene (MLG) filled poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) com-
Received in revised form posite films by using conventional melt-mixing method, and investigated electrical conductivity, tensile
1 April 2015
behavior, and thermal properties of the MLG/PVC composite films. We found that the presence of MLG
Accepted 5 May 2015
Available online 14 May 2015
can greatly increase electrical conductivity of the MLG/PVC composites, and the surface electrical con-
ductivity of the MLG/PVC composites is less than 3
108 Ohm/square when the MLG loading is about
3.5 wt%, meeting anti-static requirement for commercial anti-static PVC films. On the other hand, the
Keywords:
Graphene
MLG/PVC composites exhibited higher tensile modulus and higher glass transition temperature than
A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) neat PVC, which is closely associated with crumpled morphology of the MLG and good compatibility
B. Electrical properties between components of the MLG/PVC composites. By virtue of its satisfied anti-static performance and
B: Mechanical properties high mechanical properties, the MLG/PVC composites exhibit great potential to be used as high-
D: Thermal analysis performance antistatic materials in many fields.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), as one of the most consumed ther-
moplastics, has been widely used as cable sheathes, flooring ma-
terials, and construction pipes by virtue of its low cost, excellent
corrosion resistance, good flame retardance, and easy operation.
However, PVC is one of the typical insulating materials, and electric
charges can be easily generated and accumulated on PVC surfaces,
resulting in static-electric spark and even fire disasters [1]. In some
circumstances such as chemical plants, gas stations, and coal mines,
anti-static properties of PVC products are extremely important for
ensurance of safety and reliability [2]. In that case, developing anti-
static PVC materials has aroused much attention from academic
and industrial fields for several decades.
Some methods for improving electrical conductivity of PVC
materials have been developed for several decades [3e6], such as
coating of conductive layers onto PVC surfaces, blending with
conductive polymer, addition of conductive inorganic fillers or
liquid anti-static agents. Among these methods, conductive coating
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ86 24 8397 8090.
E-mail address: yzeng@imr.ac.cn (Y. Zeng).
layers are easily peeled off due to weak interfacial bonding, while
using conductive polymers can inevitably result in complex process
and high cost [5]. At present, the most used method for preparation
of anti-static PVC films in plastics industry is to add low molecular
weight anti-static agents into PVC matrix, forming conductive
gradient layers in PVC surface zones as a result of gradual migration
of anti-static agents from bulk to surface of PVC products [7].
However, these soft PVC films containing anti-static agents possess
intrinsic disadvantage of poor environmental stability, for example,
their electrical conductivity strongly depends on atmospheric hu-
midity and gradually decreases with service time of the products. In
that case, replacing these liquid anti-static agents with solid
conductive fillers will be an effective method for obtaining anti-
static PVC films with good environmental stability.
Carbon black (CB) is one of the most widely-used conductive
fillers because of its low cost and good compatibility with PVC
matrix. While the CB generally possesses low electrical conduc-
tivity due to its intrinsic amorphous microstructure, in that case,
high CB-loading of up to 25 wt% is generally needed for obtaining
acceptable anti-static properties of CB/PVC composites, but inevi-
tably sacrificing mechanical strength and processing performance
of the CB/PVC composites. Recently, nanocarbon materials like
carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have aroused great interests, only a small

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.05.011
1359-8368/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Wang et al. / Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450
amount of CNT loading (0.1 wt%) can greatly increase electrical
conductivity of PVC-based composites due to large aspect ratio and
high intrinsic electrical conductivity of CNTs [8,9]. However, there
still exists a critical issue of uniform dispersion for these entangled
CNTs, greatly restricting large-scale commercial application of the
CNT/PVC composites.
Graphene, as promising conductive fillers, exhibit extraordinary
properties of high modulus, high electrical and thermal conduc-
tivity, and so on [10,11]. Especially, graphene are much easier to be
dispersed throughout polymer matrix than these entangled CNTs,
due to its large lateral size and unique two-dimensional planar
structure [12]. Recently, using graphene as conductive fillers for
improvement in electrical conductivity of PVC matrix has been
reported in many literature. Vadukumpully et al. prepared gra-
phene/PVC composite films by using solution blending method,
and they reported that the graphene/PVC composites exhibited
remarkable improvement by 58% in Young's modulus at 2 wt%
graphene loadings and low electrical percolation threshold of 0.6
vol.% [4]. Pham et al. prepared graphene/PVC composites with
segregated network by using hot-press methods, and the nano-
composites exhibit a percolation threshold as low as 0.4 wt% [13].
Dang et al. fabricated graphene/PVC composites with a threshold of
0.3 wt% by using latex technology [14]. Ma et al. reported remark-
able enhancement in electrical conductivity of polyaniline-coated
graphene/PVC composites [15], and Joshi et al. found that gra-
phene/PVC composites exhibited high dielectric properties [16,17].
These reports revealed that graphene could be used as competitive
conductive fillers to greatly improve electrical conductivity of PVC
materials. However, it is worth pointing out that, all these gra-
phene/PVC composites mentioned above have been prepared by
using organic solvent, ultrasonic dispersion, and evaporation of
solvent, inevitably resulting in complicated procedures, high cost,
and environmental pollution. Furthermore, this solution method is
extremely difficult to be used for large-scale production of nano-
composites. As a contrast, melt-mixing method is a conventional
method for preparing thermoplastic composite materials in a large
quantity. Notably, with the breakthrough of high-quality multi-
layer graphene (MLG) production at low costs [18], how to prepare
high-performance graphene/PVC composites in a simple way has
been a critical issue for exploring and pushing practical application
of graphene and its composites forward. As far as we know, prep-
aration of anti-static PVC films containing commercial multi-layer
graphene (MLG) by using conventional melt-mixing method has
not been reported yet.
The aim of this work is to use commercial multi-layer graphene
(MLG) as conductive fillers for improving electrical conductivity of
the MLG/PVC composites. Electrical and mechanical properties of
the MLG/PVC composites were investigated in details. We found
that the presence of graphene could greatly increase electrical
conductivity, tensile modulus, glass transition temperature of the
MLG/PVC composites, which is mainly attributed to good disper-
sion, excellent electrical conductivity of MLG, and good compati-
bility between MLG and PVC.
2. Experiments
2.1. Materials
Commercial multi-layer graphene (MLG) powders, produced by
using interlayer catalytic exfoliation (ICE) method [18], were sup-
plied from Sichuan Jinlu Group Co., Ltd. China. Layer number of the
used MLG is less than 10 graphitic layers (thickness of about
1e3 nm), and its lateral size is as large as 10e15 mm. The MLG
powders have high structural integrity and less defects (its C/O ratio
is more than 20, indicated by XPS spectrum) [19], and its electrical
445
conductivity is as high as over 700 S/cm. Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)
resin powders (general type SG-5) and rare-earth stabilizers were
also supplied from Sichuan Jinlu Group Co., Ltd. China. Plasticizers
of dinoctyl phthalate (DOP) were supplied by Sino-pharm Chemical
Reagent Co., Ltd.
2.2. Preparation of the MLG/PVC composite films
The weighed PVC powders and DOP (weight ratio of 2:1) were
well mixed together at room temperature by using a high-speed
mixer, and then aged for 1 h in a drying oven at 80  C. Thereafter,
the obtained mixtures were mixed with stabilizers and MLG
powders, and then heated up to 170  C and squeezed into thin MLG/
PVC composite films by using a two-roll mill. The MLG/PVC com-
posites with various MLG loadings of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 wt.%
were obtained following same processing procedures.
2.3. Characterization
Microstructure and morphology of the used MLG was charac-
terized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM, NavoSEM430,
FEI). Fracture surfaces of the MLG/PVC composites were observed
by using SEM technique. Electrical resistivity of nanocomposites
was measured by using high resistance meter (6517B, Keithley In-
strument Inc.). Tensile properties of the MLG/PVC composite films
were performed on a universal testing machine (type WSM-50KG,
Changchun Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd) at a speed of 5 mm/min
referring to ASTM D882-10. Thermal properties of nanocomposites
were measured by using a differential scanning calorimetric in-
strument (DSC, STA 449, Netszsch). A dynamic mechanical analyzer
(DMA Q800, TA Instrument) was used for measuring storage
modulus, loss modulus, and loss factor (tan d) of the MLG/PVC
composite films in a tensile mode at a heating rate of 3  C/min
from 50  C to 100  C in air atmosphere, in order to investigate
effect of the MLG on dynamic mechanical behavior and glass
transition temperature of the nanocomposites.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructure of MLG/PVC composite films
Fig. 1 shows microstructure of the MLG powders and MLG/PVC
composites. It can be seen clearly from the SEM image of Fig. 1a that
the used MLG exhibits typical crumpled morphology, totally
different from the so-called two-dimensional planar morphology of
graphene [20]. Such crumpled morphology of the MLG is mainly
attributed to high flexibility of the MLG due to its large lateral size,
thin thickness, and large aspect ratio of over 1000 [12]. Comparing
with smooth fracture surfaces of neat PVC shown in Fig. 1b, all the
graphene/PVC composites exhibite coarse and uneven fracture
surfaces, implying that the presence of MLG can increase fracture
toughness of nanocomposites. The MLG/PVC composites possess
much richer interfaces and higher flexibility than the neat PVC due
to large surface area and high flexibility of the MLG, resulting in
much high energy dissipation and high fracture toughness of
nanocomposites during fracture [19]. On the other hand, from SEM
images of fractured MLG/PVC composite films (Fig. 1ceg), we
cannot find obvious aggregation of MLG throughout PVC matrix
even at the high MLG loading of 4.5 wt%, indicating that the MLG
can be well dispersed throughout PVC matrix by simply using
conventional melt-mixing method. Such uniform dispersion of
MLG is mainly attribute to large lateral size and crumpled
morphology of MLG [12], showing much better dispersion than
those entangled CNTs. Moreover, the presence of DOP plasticizer is
also helpful for uniform dispersion of MLG throughout PVC matrix
446 H. Wang et al. / Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450
Fig. 1. SEM images of (a) the used MLG and fracture surface of MLG/PVC composite films with various MLG loadings of (b) 0, (c) 0.5, (d) 1.0, (e) 2.5, (f) 3.5, and (g) 4.5 wt%.
due to good compatibility between DOP and MLG and PVC [21]. In
our work, such uniform MLG-dispersion would be beneficial for
obtaining remarkable mechanical enhancement and high electrical
conductivity of the MLG/PVC composite films.
3.2. Electrical conductivity of the MLG/PVC composites
Fig. 2 shows electrical resistivity of MLG/PVC composites as a
function of MLG loadings. It can be seen that the electrical re-
sistivity of the MLG/PVC composites begins to decrease drastically
when the MLG loading is up to 3.5 wt%, implying a percolation
threshold of 3.5 wt% for the MLG/PVC composites. When the MLG
loading is lower than the percolation threshold, the MLG/PVC
composites exhibit high electrical resistivity because these well-
dispersed and isolated MLG cannot form conductive pathways at
such low MLG loadings. When the MLG loading is up to 3.5 wt.%,
the MLG begin to contact with each other, and consequently form
conductive pathways throughout PVC matrix, exhibiting drastic
decrease in electrical resistivity of the MLG/PVC composites. It is
worth pointing out that only those composites with surface elec-
trical resistivity lower than 3
108 Ohm/square can meet re-
quirements of commercial antistatic PVC films in practical
applications. In our work, the 3.5 wt% MLG/PVC composites exhibit
surface conductivity as low as 107 Ohm/square shown in Fig. 2a,
revealing that the MLG can be used as conductive fillers for
obtaining satisfied anti-static performance of PVC-based compos-
ites. Compared with commercial antistatic PVC films containing CB
Fig. 2. (a) Surface and (b) volume electrical resistivity of the MLG/PVC composites.
and anti-static agents, the MLG/PVC composites exhibit some ad-
vantages of higher electrical conductivity, lower conductive-filler
loadings, and especially much better stability to change in envi-
ronmental humidity due to high intrinsic conductivity of MLG,
large lateral size and high aspect ratio of the used MLG.
Percolation threshold, the minimum filler loading for formation
of conductive pathways throughout matrix, is an important eval-
uation index for conductive composites. It directly reflects electrical
conductivity of composites, efficiency of electron transferring
through matrix, and even cost of anti-static products [22,23]. In our
work, the percolation threshold of the MLG/PVC composites is
3.5 wt.% (2.26 vol.%), higher than the prediction value of 0.47 vol.%
for graphene/polymer composites containing graphene with an
aspect ratio of 100 [24]. We further compared electrical conduc-
tivity of the MLG/PVC composites with that of other conductive-
filler filled PVC composites. The MLG/PVC composites exhibit
higher electrical conductivity than PANI/PVC composites at the
same filler loadings reported in literature [15], which is mainly
attributed to high intrinsic conductivity of the used MLG. On the
other hand, the percolation threshold of 3.5 wt% for the MLG/PVC
composites is higher than that of other nanocarbon/PVC compos-
ites, for example, 2 wt.% for reduced graphene oxide (RGO) filled
PVC composites [15], 0.1 wt% for CNT/PVC and 0.6 vol.% for gra-
phene/PVC composites prepared by solution methods [4,9],
0.05 vol.% for CNT/PVC and 0.4 wt% for graphene/PVC composites
with segregated networks [8,13], and 0.3 wt% for reduced gra-
phene/PVC composites prepared by latex technology [14]. In that
 H. Wang et al. / Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450
case, we can see that the percolation threshold of nanocomposites
strongly depends on the type of conductive fillers and the pro-
cessing methods.
In our work, such high percolation threshold of the MLG/PVC
composites is mainly attributed to these three following reasons.
(1) Dispersion of the MLG. In this work, the MLG/PVC composites
were prepared by using conventional melt-mixing method,
exhibiting lower electrical conductivity and higher percolation
threshold than those CNT or graphene filled PVC composites pre-
pared by solution blending method or latex technology with
segregated network [4,14]. It has been widely accepted that the
degree of graphene dispersion in a high-viscosity molten polymer
is much lower than that in low-viscosity polymer solution [25],
consequently resulting in the high percolation threshold of the
MLG/PVC composites as shown in Fig. 2. (2) Crumpled morphology
of MLG existing in PVC matrix. As mentioned above, the graphene
powders show crumpled morphology as a result of large lateral
size, thin thickness and large aspect ratio of the used MLG [19].
Notably, these crumple graphene cannot be flattened in the melt-
mixing process, and even they can be further squeezed into
smaller and denser graphene powders by shearing force [12]. The
drastic decrement of aspect ratio, from planar graphene sheets to
crumpled graphene powders, even to squeezed graphene, greatly
decreases possibility for formation of conductive pathways at low
graphene loadings [24,26], consequently resulting in lower perco-
lation threshold of the MLG/PVC composites than that theoretical
prediction of threshold [24]. (3) DOP-wrapping onto MLG surface.
For obtaining high flexibility of PVC films, low-molecular-weight
plasticizer of DOP is generally added into PVC matrix to weaken
interactions between PVC chains. It is worth pointing out that the
non-polarized DOP exhibits good compatibility with the graphene
due to their similar surface tension and surface energy as low as
35e37 dyn/cm [27e29]. In that case, the DOP can be easily adsor-
bed onto MLG surfaces [21], consequently causing remarkable in-
crease in contact resistance between the DOP-wrapped MLG and
Fig. 3. Tensile properties of (a) stressestrain curves, (b) tensile modulus, (c) tensile strength, and (d) elongation at break of the MLG/PVC composites.
447
drastic decrease in electrical conductivity of the wrapped MLG
networks. Therefore, in our work, the high percolation threshold of
the MLG/PVC composites is closely associated with low dispersion
of MLG in molten PVC, crumpled morphology of MLG, and DOP-
wrapping onto MLG surfaces.
3.3. Tensile properties of the MLG/PVC composite films
Fig. 3 shows tensile behavior of the MLG/PVC composite films. It
can be seen clearly that the MLG/PVC composites exhibit higher
tensile modulus, lower tensile strength, and lower elongation at
break in comparison with the neat PVC, indicating that the pres-
ence of MLG can greatly increase the tensile modulus, but decrease
tensile toughness of the MLG/PVC composites. The mechanical
reinforcement of the MLG/PVC composites is closely associated
with intrinsic mechanical properties of MLG and interactions be-
tween components of the MLG/PVC composites.
As shown in Fig. 3a and b, the MLG/PVC composites show much
higher tensile modulus than the neat PVC. The tensile modulus of
the 5 wt% MLG/PVC composites is as high as 13.5 MPa, increasing by
145% in comparison with 5.5 MPa for the neat PVC. Generally
speaking, remarkable mechanical reinforcement of the graphene/
PVC composites strongly depends on high modulus of graphene
and strong interaction between graphene and PVC, which has been
widely demonstrated in many literature [4,17,30]. In our work, it is
worth pointing out that the MLG, which exist in a form of crumpled
clusters throughout PVC matrix, exhibit much lower modulus than
the theoretical modulus of 1 TPa for the planar graphene [20]. On
the other hand, in our work, strong interfacial bonding between
PVC and MLG cannot be formed due to less functional groups of the
used MLG with high structural integrity and less defects (its C/O
ratio is up to 20) [19]. In spite of the weak MLG-PVC interactions
and low modulus of the crumpled MLG, the MLG/PVC composites
still exhibit high tensile strength and tensile modulus, as shown in
Fig. 3a and b. Such remarkable mechanical reinforcement of the
448 H. Wang et al. / Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450
MLG/PVC composites is mainly attributed to good compatibility
between MLG, PVC, and plasticizer of DOP [21]. As mentioned
above, the used MLG with high structural integrity and less defects
exhibit better compatibility with DOP than the functionalized
graphene [28], and consequently these DOP molecules are prone to
be adsorbed onto MLG surfaces. In our work, as the DOP addition
was fixed, with the increment of MLG loadings, more DOP was
adsorbed onto MLG surfaces, while less plasticizer of DOP was left
between PVC chains [21]. As a result, the interactions between PVC
chains were greatly enhanced, resulting in high modulus of the
MLG/PVC composites at high MLG loadings, as shown in Fig. 3b.
We can also see from Fig. 3c and d that the presence of MLG can
decrease tensile strength and elongation at break of the MLG/PVC
composites, which is also associated with low modulus of crumpled
MLG, weak interactions between MLG and PVC, and high DOP-
adsorption onto MLG surfaces. For flexible PVC-based films, their
tensile strength and elongation at break is closely associated with
the movement and orientation of PVC chains under applied uni-
axial tensile forces. In our work, the presence of MLG greatly hin-
ders movement of PVC chains due to the high DOP-adsorption onto
MLG surfaces [21], consequently resulting in low capability of
orientation under applied forces. On the other hand, the weak in-
teractions between MLG and PVC are not beneficial to effectively
transfer loading and consequently improve the tensile strength.
Moreover, the presence of MLG at high loadings can introduce
much more structural defects into the nanocomposites, inevitably
resulting in low tensile strength and low elongation at break, as
shown in Fig. 3c and d. Therefore, in our work, the tensile proper-
ties of the MLG/PVC composites is closely associated with the low
modulus of the crumple MLG, weak interfacial bonding between
MLG and PVC, and high DOP-adsorption onto the MLG surfaces.
3.4. Thermal stability of the MLG/PVC composites
We measured thermal properties of the MLG/PVC composites to
evaluate effect of MLG on thermal stability of PVC. Typical DSC
curves of the MLG/PVC composites were shown in Fig. 4. It can be
seen that there are two stages of decomposition for all the gra-
phene/PVC nanocomposites [17,30]: the first decomposition
occurred in the range of 250e360  C, which corresponds to the loss
of HCl from PVC chains; the second stage of decomposition is in
420e550  C, at which thermal degradation of polyene backbones
took place and thus resulted in large mass loss.
We can clearly see from Fig. 4 that all the MLG/PVC composites
exhibit lower thermal onset decomposition temperatures than the
neat PVC, indicating that the presence of MLG can decrease thermal
Fig. 4. DSC curves of the MLG/PVC composites.
stability of the MLG/PVC composites to some extent, which is
consistent with that of other graphene/PVC composites reported in
literature [4,30]. Such low thermal stability of the MLG/PVC com-
posites is mainly attributed to the weak interactions between MLG
and PVC. On one hand, as mentioned above, there is a lack of strong
interfacial bonding in the MLG/PVC composite due to the less
functional groups existing on the MLG surfaces, and consequently
the presence of MLG cannot greatly improve the thermal stability of
the MLG/PVC composites. On the other hand, the good compatibility
between MLG and DOP and PVC also plays an important role in
attracting Cl atoms and weakening CeCl bonds in PVC [4], conse-
quently resulting in low decomposition temperature of the MLG/
PVC composites. Therefore, in our work, the low thermal stability of
the MLG/PVC composites is mainly attributed to the weak in-
teractions and good compatibility between the MLG and PVC.
3.5. Dynamic mechanical behavior of the MLG/PVC composites
We further used dynamic mechanical analyzers to evaluate
mechanical properties and glass transition temperatures of the
MLG/PVC composites, and the dynamic mechanical behavior of the
nanocomposites was shown in Fig. 5. First of all, we can see from
Fig. 5a that all the MLG/PVC composites show higher storage
modulus than the neat PVC, indicating that the presence of MLG
can greatly increase stiffness of nanocomposites, which is consis-
tent with the high tensile modulus of nanocomposites shown in
Fig. 3b. Secondly, loss modulus and tan d of the MLG/PVC com-
posites shown in Fig. 5b and c represent energy dissipation and
damping properties of nanocomposites under cyclic deformations,
directly reflecting responsive behavior of PVC chains at different
temperatures. It can be seen clearly that all the MLG/PVC com-
posites show higher loss modulus and larger tan d than the neat
PVC, implying that much higher energy dissipation was consumed
under cyclic deformations for the MLG/PVC composites due to
much more interfaces and inner friction sliding between MLG and
PVC existing in the MLG/PVC composites.
Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the MLG/PVC composites
were also plotted in Fig. 5d. It can be seen clearly that the Tg of the
MLG/PVC composites strongly depends on the MLG loadings. At
low MLG loadings, the MLG/PVC composites exhibited almost the
same Tg with the neat PVC, which is due to the weak MLG-PVC
interactions and low MLG loadings. When the MLG loading in-
creases, the Tg values of the MLG/PVC composites began to increase
gradually. The Tg value of the 3.5 wt% MLG/PVC composites is up to
23.5  C, increasing by 147% comparing with 9.5  C for the neat PVC.
Such high Tg value of the MLG/PVC composites is mainly attributed
to the DOP-adsorption of the MLG and the resulting restricted
movement of PVC chains at high MLG loadings. Therefore, in our
work, the presence of MLG can result in Tg increment of the MLG/
PVC composites at high MLG loadings due to high DOP-adsorption
of MLG and good compatibility between components of the MLG/
PVC composites.
4. Conclusions
We prepared anti-static MLG/PVC composite films by using
conventional melt-mixing methods, and investigated electrical
conductivity, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of the
MLG/PVC composites. We found that the MLG/PVC composite films
exhibited satisfied electrical conductivity less than 3
108 U/
square when the MLG loading is about 3.5 wt%, meeting the
requirement for commercial application of anti-static PVC-based
films. The electrical conductivity of the MLG/PVC composites
strongly depends on intrinsic electrical conductivity of MLG,
morphology of MLG existing in PVC matrix, and interactions
 H. Wang et al. / Composites Part B 79 (2015) 444e450
Fig. 5. Dynamic mechanical behavior of (a) storage and (b) loss modulus, (c) tan d, and (d) glass transition temperature of the MLG/PVC composites.
between the MLG and plasticizer and PVC. On the other hand, The
presence of MLG can greatly improve tensile modulus and glass
transition temperature of the MLG/PVC composites, but decreasing
tensile strength and thermal stability of the MLG/PVC composites,
which is closely associated with crumpled morphology of the MLG,
weak MLG-PVC interactions, and high DOP-adsorption onto MLG
surfaces. By virtue of its satisfied antistatic properties, high tensile
modulus, and high Tg, the MLG/PVC composites have great poten-
tial to be used as high-performance antistatic films in many fields.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Songfeng Pei for the characterization of
MLG. We also acknowledge financial supports from the Ministry of
Science and Technology of China (No. 2012AA030303), Department
of Science and Technology of Liaoning Province (No. 2014305012),
the Hundred Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.
CAS2012), the Fund for Creative Research Groups (No. 51221264),
and the Fund of Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science
(No. 2015RP13).
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