Visvini Glykeria A, Mathioudakis Georgios N, Soto Beobide Amaia, Voyiatzis George A
Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT), Stadiou Str., GR-265 04 Rio-Patras, Greece.
Department of Physics, University of Patras, GR-265 00 Rio-Patras, Greece.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024 Dec 25;15(1):11. doi: 10.3390/nano15010011.
This work focuses on the incorporation of 2D carbon nanomaterials, such as graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), into polypropylene (PP) via melt mixing. The addition of these 2D carbon nanostructured networks offers a novel approach to enhancing/controlling the water vapor permeable capabilities of PP composite membranes, widely used in industrial applications, such as technical (building roof membranes) or medical (surgical gowns) textiles. The study investigates how the dispersion and concentration of these graphene nanomaterials within the PP matrix influence the microstructure and water vapor permeability (WVP) performance. The WVP measurements were conducted via the "wet" cup method. The presence of either GO, rGO or GNPs in the new polyolefin composite membranes revealed 6- to 7-fold enhanced WVP values compared to pristine PP. This improvement is attributed to the nanoindentations created at the interface of the carbon nanoinclusions with the polymer matrix in the form of nanopores that facilitate water vapor diffusion. In the particular case of GO and rGO, residual oxidative groups might contribute to the WVP as well. This is the first study to compare GO, rGO and even GNP inclusions under identical conditions, providing deeper insights into the mechanisms driving the observed improvements in WVP performance.
这项工作重点在于通过熔融共混将二维碳纳米材料，如氧化石墨烯（GO）、还原氧化石墨烯（rGO）和石墨烯纳米片（GNPs），掺入聚丙烯（PP）中。添加这些二维碳纳米结构网络为增强/控制PP复合膜的水蒸气渗透能力提供了一种新方法，PP复合膜广泛应用于工业领域，如工业用（建筑屋顶膜）或医用（手术服）纺织品。该研究调查了这些石墨烯纳米材料在PP基体中的分散情况和浓度如何影响微观结构及水蒸气透过率（WVP）性能。WVP测量通过“湿杯”法进行。新型聚烯烃复合膜中GO、rGO或GNPs的存在表明，与原始PP相比，WVP值提高了6至7倍。这种改善归因于碳纳米夹杂物与聚合物基体界面处形成的纳米压痕，其形式为促进水蒸气扩散的纳米孔。在GO和rGO的特定情况下，残留的氧化基团可能也对WVP有贡献。这是第一项在相同条件下比较GO、rGO甚至GNP夹杂物的研究，为推动观察到的WVP性能改善的机制提供了更深入的见解。
