Enhanced mechanical properties of silica nanoparticle-covered cross-linking graphene oxide filled thermoplastic polyurethane composite

In this work, silica nanoparticle-covered cross-linking graphene oxide (GOES) was successfully synthesized in a stacking graphene oxide (GOE) solution where ethylenediamine (EDA) was used for simultaneous reduction and functionalization of the graphene oxide (GO). The GOES-filled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites were prepared through solution mixing and the mechanical properties of GOES/TPU were systematically investigated. The results revealed that the properties of composites filled with the cross-linked (GOE, GOES) filler are better than those of un-cross-linked (GO, GOS) filler. Furthermore, with a loading of 2 wt%, the tensile strengths and the tensile strains of GOES/TPU composites were significantly enhanced (48.9 MPa, 2140%), as compared to pure TPU (30.6 MPa, 1370%). The improvement in mechanical properties of GOES/TPU is attributed to the homogeneous dispersion of GOES in the TPU matrix and the strong interfacial interactions between them.