High toughness in ultralow density graphene oxide foam

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPHere, the scalable synthesis of low-density 3D macroscopic structure of graphene oxide (GO) interconnected with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is reported. A controlled amount of PDMS is infused into the freeze-dried foam to result into a very rigid structure with improved mechanical properties, such as tensile plasticity and toughness. The PDMS wets the graphene oxide sheets and acts like glue between the 2D sheets. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to further elucidate the mechanisms of the interactions of graphene oxide layers with PDMS. The ability of using the interconnecting graphene oxide foam as an effective oil-water separator and stable insulating behavior to elevated temperatures are further demonstrated. The structural rigidity of the sample is also tested using laser impact and compared with GO foam.410110FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2013/08293-72016/12340-9The authors thank the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA9550-13-1-0084) for funding this research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research MURI Grant FA9550-12-1-0035 for financial support of this research. C. F. W. acknowledge Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (Grant # 2016/12340-9) for financial support. C. F. W. and D. S. G. acknowledge the Center for Computational Engineering and Sciences (CCES/CEPID) at the State University of Campinas (FAPESP/CCES/CEPID grant # 2013/08293-7)