Enhanced electrical conductivity of polymer nanocomposite based on edge-selectively functionalized graphene nanoplatelets

Achieving high filler dispersion in a polymer composite is very important for effectively and efficiently imparting several advantages of functional fillers to the composite. To this end, we have suggested a synthesis of polyamide 6 via in situ ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactam and edge-selectively functionalized graphene nanoplatelets without defects on its basal plane synthesized by a ball-mill process with dry ice. As a consequence, the final graphene nanocomposite possesses highly dispersed filler and has enhanced electrical conductivity due to its undistorted sp² hybridization after functionalization. This approach is a promising way of incorporating filler into polymer composites, effectively implementing highly electrical conducting graphene without its aggregation and damage to its inherent properties after functionalization.