Ternary hybrid polymeric nanocomposites through grafting of polystyrene on graphene oxide-TiO sub(2) by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP)

A ternary hybrid of graphene oxide-titania-polystyrene (GO-TiO sub(2)-PS) nanocomposite is developed where polystyrene composition is regulated by controlling growth of polymer chains and nanoarchitectonics is discussed. Graphene Oxide-TiO sub(2) (GO-TiO sub(2)) nanocomposite is prepared by in-situ hydrothermal method and the surface is anchored with alpha -bromoisobutyryl bromide to activate GO-TiO sub(2) as initiator for polymerization. In-situ grafting of polystyrene through surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI- ATRP) on this Br-functionalized nano-composite initiator yields GO-TiO sub(2)-PS ternary hybrid. Varying the monomer amount and keeping the concentration of initiator constant, polystyrene chain growth is regulated with narrow poly-dispersivity to achieve desired composition. This composite is well characterized by various analytical techniques like FTIR, XRD, DSC, SEM, TEM, and TGA.