Rheological properties of SBS modified asphalt incorporated polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilized graphene nanoplatelets

Abstract With the rapid development and application of nanomaterials in recent years, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) compounded styrene–butadienestyrene (SBS) to prepare novel asphalt binders with superior high-temperature performance and outstanding mechanical property, have gradually become a hot topic. However, this approach may result in poor compatibility of GNPs with SBS modified asphalt. In this work, the loosely layered composite, polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilized graphene nanoplatelets (PVP-GNPs), has been prepared with a polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), adsorbed onto the surface of graphene nanoplatelets through non-covalent interactions. Subsequently, the prepared PVP-GNPs as a modifier was added into SBS modified asphalt to increase the compatibility with the asphalt binder. The conventional experiment results revealed that the addition of a certain amount of PVP-GNPs improved the softening point and temperature sensitivity. Meanwhile, dynamic rheological tests (Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR), Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR), Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS), and Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)) showed an enhancement of the viscoelastic properties, high-temperature rutting resistance, medium-temperature fatigue damage tolerance, and low-temperature thermal cracking resistance. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques demonstrated the successful attaching of PVP onto the surface of GNPs, which expanded the spatial distance of GNPs and facilitated the intercalation of asphalt molecules. Moreover, 1.0%–1.5% was recommended as the optimal dosage of PVP-GNPs for modification. This study may shed light on the application of GNPs to asphalt pavements.