Simultaneous reduction and surface functionalization of graphene oxide by cystamine dihydrochloride for rubber composites

Abstract

Abstract The simultaneous reduction and functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) was achieved through a chemical grafting reaction with cystamine dihydrochloride (CDHC), a novel functional agent with dynamic disulfide bond. CDHC-reduced GO (CGO) can be uniformly and stably dispersed in the aqueous phase. Furthermore, CGO reinforced styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) composites with highly filled silica content were prepared by a latex mixing and coagulation process. TEM confirmed both CGO and silica can be uniformly dispersed in the rubber matrix. The dynamic disulfide bonds of the grafted CDHC in the CGO can participate in the subsequent vulcanization of SBR rubber through disulfide exchange reactions, thereby forming a tight interaction between GO and rubber. Compared with normally reduced GO system, the mechanical and thermal properties of CGO-containing rubber nanocomposites were significantly improved. The results show that CGO is effective to reinforce rubber composites, which has the potential to be used for tire rubber materials.