Preparation of Poly(phenylene sulfide)/Nylon 6 Grafted Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites with Enhanced Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) is an attractive polymer in engineering plastics because of its high mechanical strength and thermal stability. Herein, poly(phenylene sulfide)/nylon 6 grafted graphene oxide (PPS/NGO) nanocomposites were prepared by micro-compounding, where NGO is prepared via ring-opening polymerization of ε -caprolactam on the graphene oxide (GO), which has carboxylic acid groups that can act as an initiator. Since nylon 6 is known to be able to blend with commercial PPS, nylon 6 moiety in NGO can increase mechanical properties of PPS, especially by forming PPS/NGO nanocomposites with improved toughness. Moreover, graphene nanosheets can provide improved mechanical strength and thermal stability because of their mechanically reinforcing and thermal barrier effects. For example, if a PPS/NGO nanocomposite with 0.03 wt% of NGO was prepared, the tensile strength and elongation at break values increased by 32% and 30%, respectively, compared to neat PPS. Also, the thermal decomposition temperature for 5% weight loss increased from 481 to 488 °C, indicating the improved thermal stability. These improved properties can be attributed to the well-dispersed NGO in the PPS matrix, as confirmed by the morphological studies using SEM and EDS mapping.