Influence of aminized graphite nanosheets on the physical properties of PMMA-based nanocomposites

In this work, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was grafted onto amine treated graphite nanosheets (NH2-GNs) and the surface characteristics and physical properties of the NH₂-GNs-g-PMMA films were investigated. The graft reaction of NH₂-GNs and PMMA was confirmed from the shift of the N_1S peak, including amine oxygen and amide oxygen, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface characteristics of the NH ₂-GNs-g-PMMA films were measured as a function of the NH ₂-GN content using the contact angle method. It was revealed that the specific component of the surface free energy (γ_s) of the films was slightly increased as the NH₂-GN content increased. Also, the thermal and mechanical properties of the NH₂-GNs-g-PMMA films were enhanced with the addition of NH₂-GNs. This can be attributed to the chemical bonding caused by the graft reaction between the NH ₂-GNs and the PMMA matrix.