An alternative avenue for high-performance phenolic resin/graphene composite

Phenolic resin (PR) grafted graphene (G-PR), synthesized from the versatile graphene modification platform 2-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl) pyrrolidine grafted pristine graphene (G-OH), is used to develop high-performance phenolic composites. Benefiting from good properties of G-PR, uniform dispersion of G-PR and strong PR/G-PR interfacial interaction, G-PR shows obvious advantages as a filler in improving mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of PR over pristine graphene (pG) and graphene oxide (GO) derivatives. For PR/G-PR composites, the maximum tensile strength attains 51.4 MPa at 0.5 wt% graphene content. Electrical and thermal conductivities reach to 10 −3 S·cm −1 and 0.374 W·m −1 ·k −1 at 5 wt% graphene content, respectively. The decomposition temperature and residue at 800°C separately increase by 61°C and 3.5 wt% at 1 wt% graphene content. In a word, this contribution provides an alternative avenue for preparing high-performance and multifunctional PR/graphene composites, avoiding the high risk and serious pollution of graphene oxide (GO) avenue.