Improving mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of polyimide by incorporating vinyltriethoxysilane functionalized graphene oxide

Functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) nanosheets were produced by reacting graphene oxide with vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES). The vinyltriethoxysilane graphene oxide and polyimide (VGO/PI) composites were prepared by solution blending method. In comparison with the pristine polyimide (PI) and graphene oxide/polyimide (GO/PI) composite, VGO showed better mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. The tensile strength of VGO/PI composite with 0.8 wt% VGO loading was up to 148 MPa, i.e., 105% higher than that of pure PI. The respective electrical and thermal conductivity values of composite were found 2.15 × 10⁻³ S/m and 0.89 W/mK as compared to 1.21 × 10⁻¹² S/m and 0.13 W/mK for the pure PI. The thermal stability of composite was found to improve with the addition of VGO. Significant improvement in the properties has been explained in terms of homogeneous dispersion of VGO in the matrix and its strong interfacial adhesion with polymer due to surface modification of GO. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E1635–E1642, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers