Preparation Of Polystyrene、Epoxy/Graphene Composites By In Situ Ball-milling

A in situ ball-milling method to prepare graphene/polymer composites isdescribed. By using a planetary mill operated at a low speed, graphite was peeled offmechanically to produce graphene in the medium of polymer or prepolymersolution.The peeling graphene directly compound with the polymer to preparegraphene/polymer composites. The in situ preparation method was able to realize thetransfer of graphene excellent electric conductivity, mechanical properties andthermal conductivity to the polymer matrix.1. The results indicate that, wet ball miiling is a reliable route to exfoliate graphiteinto graphene, single-and few-layer graphene sheets（≤5）have been successfullyprepared.2. During the process of delamination, the as-prepared graphene sheets weresuccessfully decorated by polystyrene. The process was skillfully designed so asto avoid agglomeration and restacking of graphene sheets and improve thecharging efficiency.3. After the incorporation process of the ball milling, the resultinggraphene/polystyrene composites, with homogeneously dispersed mono-andfew-layer graphene sheets, exhibited an extraordinary electrical and thermalproperty.4. With the help of skillfully designed in situ prepartion method, graphene sheetswith satisfying crystal structure, high compatibility and large scale can beproduced, which provides the possibility to use the high properties of graphene.5. As expected, after the in situ incorporation process of the ball milling, theresulting composites, with homogeneously dispersed mono-and few-layergraphene sheets, exhibited an extraordinary mechanical property at low graphenecontent. At0.4wt.%, ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus wereincreased by16.3%and51.8%, respectively, relative to the base resin.