Surfactant-free, melt-processable metal-polymer hybrid materials: Use of graphene as a dispersing agent

Mechanical entrapping of metal nanoparticles in a graphene-like carbon shell and facilitating the contact between the polymer and the particles were studied to solve dispersion problems. The electrical and magnetic properties suggest the use of hybrid materials as polymer melt processeable magnets that enable preparation of machine components by injection molding. The percolation limits of mechanically prepared composites demonstrate a material independent behavior in PEO and PMMA. The results indicate that strong van der Walls interactions inhibit the incorporation of carbon nanotubes into a polymer matrix and reflect the large contact area of two adjacent carbon nanotubes in an aggregate. The graphene wrapping is found to increase air-stability of the metal nanoparticles up to 200°C, while PEO composite containing 40 wt% C/CO exhibit air-stability up to 230°C