Improved dispersion of attapulgite nanorods in polymer with graphene oxide nanosheets

To improve the dispersion stability of rod-like attapulgite (ATT) in polymers, a small amount of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were employed as a supporter to fix ATT before introducing into polymer. The ATT nanorods were found attached tightly and dispersed uniformly on the GO nanosheets from TEM images of GO-ATT hybrids. The dispersion stability of ATT in water was also improved after being attached on GO nanosheets due to the abundant hydrophilic groups of GO, which was paramount for introducing them into polymers through water blending method. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was then chosen to be reinforced by these GO-supported ATT via water blending method. Compared to the heavy aggregation of neat ATT in PVA, a homogeneous distribution of ATT nanorods in the matrix was achieved by introducing them in the form of GO-ATT, indicating a favorable assisted dispersion effect of GO nanosheets for ATT. Furthermore, PVA/GO-ATT nanocomposites containing only 2 wt% GO-ATT exhibited a significantly increase of 41.4 and 83.6 % in tensile strength and storage modulus, respectively.