Preparation of poly(vinyl chloride)-solvothermally reduced graphene composite by latex tecnology

In this work, we reported that the highly electrical conductive poly (vinyl chloride)-solvothermally reduced graphene (PVC-STRG) nanocomposite was successfully prepared by colloidal blending method. PVC latex was synthesized by miniemulsion polymerization. The stable aqueous STRG suspension was prepared in the presence of sodium lauryl sulfate surfactant. For the first time, the simple filtration method was used instead of freeze-drying to remove the solvent of colloidal nanocomposite without any negative effect on the distribution of graphene in the PVC matrix. The SEM images of PVC-STRG nanocomposite powder showed that graphene sheets were uniformly distributed in interstitial space between PVC particles while the charge contrast SEM images show the segregated network of graphene sheets in PVC matrix. The PVC-STRG nanocomposite exhibited the low percolation threshold at 0.3 wt% while the best conductivity value obtained was as high as 38.5 S m^-1 corresponding 4 wt% graphene loading.