Polymer composites prepared by low-temperature post-irradiation polymerization of C2F4 in the presence of graphene-like material: synthesis and characterizationElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4ra09074h

Polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-microwave exfoliated graphene oxide (MEGO) composites containing up to 80 wt% PTFE were prepared by low-temperature post-irradiation polymerization of C 2 F 4 in the presence of the graphene-like material. Composites were characterized by FTIR, NMR, XPS, SEM, TGA, XRD, broadband dielectric spectroscopy and DSC techniques. The melting point of PTFE in the composite (332.5 °C) was higher than that of pure PTFE by 8.8 °C. The measured values of the melting enthalpy (Δ H m = 51.5 and 45.4 J g −1 ) were used to calculate the extent of crystallinity in the PTFE and PTFE-MEGO composite (0.63 and 0.55, respectively). No CF 3 end groups typical of commercial PTFE have been detected in the PTFE-MEGO composites. Study of PTFE-microwave exfoliated graphene oxide (MEGO) composites synthesized using a low temperature post-irradiation polymerization technique. SEM images of MEGO (left) and PTFE-MEGO composite (right).