Preparation and property of UV-curable polyurethane acrylate film filled with cationic surfactant treated graphene

Abstract The preparation of nanocomposite films composed of UV-curable polyurethane acrylate (PUA) and modified graphene were demonstrated in this paper. Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide modified graphene (CTAB-G) was prepared via intercalation of cationic surfactant and subsequently incorporated into PUA by UV curing technology. Fourier transform infrared spectra, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the structure and morphology of CTAB-G, as well as CTAB-G/PUA nanocomposite films. The results revealed that the CTAB-G sheets were layer-by-layer structure and dispersed uniformly in PUA matrix. Thermal gravimetric analysis showed that the thermal stabilities of UV-curable PUA nanocomposite films in this work were much higher than that of PUA nanocomposites previously reported. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that the dynamic mechanical properties of nanocomposite films were greatly enhanced in the presence of modified graphene sheets. In addition, the CTAB-G/PUA nanocomposite films exhibited improved dielectric properties and electrical conductivities compared with the pure PUA.