Fabrication of silane-grafted graphene oxide and its effect on the structural, thermal, mechanical, and hysteretic behavior of polyurethane

Incorporation of nanofillers into polyurethane (PU) is a promising technique for enhancing its thermal and mechanical properties. Silane grafting has been used as a surface treatment for the functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) with numerous reactive sites dispersed on its basal plane and edge. In this study, amine-grafted GO was prepared using silanization of GO with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. The functionalized graphene oxide (fGO) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Next, it was introduced in PU fabricated using polycaprolactone diol, castor oil, and hexamethylene diisocyanate. The fGO–PU nanocomposites were in turn characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and a universal testing machine. The results obtained from these analyses showed changes in structural thermal properties, as well as improved thermal stability and mechanical properties because of the strong interfacial adhesion between the fGO and the PU matrix.