Comparative analysis, road performance and mechanism of modification of polystyrene graphene nanoplatelets (PS-GNPs) and octadecyl amine graphene nanoplatelets (ODA-GNPs) modified SBS incorporated asphalt binders

Abstract The temperature, anti-rutting and road performance of Polystyrene graphene nanoplatelets (PS-GNPs)/Styrene butadiene Styrene (SBS) incorporated binder and Octadecyle amine Graphene Nanoplatelets (ODA-GNPs)/SBS incorporated binder were comparatively analyzed by DSR, MSCR, BBR, Time sweep, Marshall water stability, freeze-thaw splitting and rutting tests. 0.02% PS-GNPs binder incorporated SBS exhibited better performance in terms of mechanical properties and anti-water damage performance than ODA-GNPs and SBS (within the scope of the study). The textural characterization of the modified GNPs were performed via XRD, SEM, and AFM. Based on the properties and characterization results, two types of comparative modification mechanisms were proposed. The asphalt binder and mixture exhibited stronger adhesive forces which offered higher resistance to water damage. This study could greatly help in formulating and designing SBS incorporated binder for target applications.