Preparation and properties of functionalized graphene/waterborne polyurethane composites with highly hydrophobic

The long-chain functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (FGN) were functionalized by isophorone diisocyanate and then octadecylamine, the graphene functionalized/waterborne polyurethane (WPU) composites were prepared by solution mixture. The results showed that the FGN achieved good dispersion with exfoliated and intercalated nanostructure and strong interfacial adhesion with WPU, which made the nano–composites have a significant enhancement of thermal stability and mechanical properties at low FGN loadings. With 1.5% of FGN added, the tensile strength of the composites reached the maximum of 17 MPa, which improved by 41.6%, the water absorption of the composites is only 6.7%. With the incorporation of 2 wt % FGN, and the static contact angle of the composites reached to about 120°, showing the high hydrophobicity. At the same time, the volume resistivity of the composites was changed from 2.34 × 10 12 Ω·cm to 3.77 × 10 9 Ω·cm. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42005.