Preparation of Methacrylate Polymer/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Particles Stabilized by Poly(ionic liquid) Block Copolymer via Miniemulsion Polymerization.

Poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PnBMA)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite films are prepared using two different routes. The first route involves preparation of PnBMA nanoparticles containing homogeneously dispersed rGO nanosheets by miniemulsion polymerization using a block copolymer of ionic liquid (IL) monomer and nBMA. The IL units act as adsorption sites for rGO whereas BMA units provide solubility in the BMA monomer droplets. Nanocomposite films obtained from miniemulsion polymerization exhibit higher tensile modulus in comparison with the films prepared by mixing a PnBMA emulsion and aqueous graphene oxide (GO) dispersion. The second route involves preparation of PnBMA particles armored with rGO nanosheets via miniemulsion polymerization using the same poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) block copolymer. An anionic exchange reaction is conducted to obtain more hydrophilic PIL units in the block copolymer, thus providing adsorption sites of GO nanosheets at the interface of the polymer particles. Subsequent chemical reduction of GO to rGO using hydrazine monohydrate results in formation of a PnBMA/rGO nanocomposite. The resulting nanocomposite film exhibits electrical conductivity (2.0 × 10-3 S m-1).