Preparation of rubber/graphene oxide composites with in-situ interfacial design

Abstract Two series of alkylamine-modified (oleylamine and octadecylamine) styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)/graphene oxide (GO) composites were fabricated through a facile green method involving co-coagulation and in-situ interfacial modification techniques. Both alkylamines were shown to graft onto the GO surface via covalent and ionic-bonding, and GO was partially reduced into graphene during alkylation. The dispersion of GO in the rubber matrix was significantly improved after modification due to the broader interlayer gallery of GO sheets after intercalation by alkylamine molecules. Both modified GO exhibited significantly higher reinforcing efficiencies for SBR due to the combination of improved dispersion and increased surface affinity of modified GO for the rubber matrix. Systems modified with oleylamine possessed stronger interfacial interactions than those modified with octadecylamine, which can be attributed to the additional interfacial cross-linking between sulfur and oleylamine in oleylamine modified systems.