Solubilization of Reduced Graphene Oxide by Grafting-On Poly(2-Methyl-2-Oxazoline)

Abstract Reduced graphene oxide (rGO), one of the materials regarded as the strongest material is known as insoluble in wide range of solvent. This problem limits the application of rGO on other research. The grafted polymer, poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (N3-PMeOxz) is soluble in water which could make it possible to broaden solubility of rGO in wide range of solvent. For this experimental study, N3-PMeOxz is grafted into reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with the purpose of improving the solubility of functionalized rGO and improvement of thermal and mechanical properties of functionalized rGO. Grafted-on reaction between N3-PMeOxz and rGO were carried out by using oxygen degassification method and heat reaction under nitrogen environment in the presence of N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP). Characterization of the composite were analyzed by using Fourier’s Transform Infrared (FT-IR) for determination of bond exist in the composite and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for thermal transition temperature. Solubility test of the composite on few solvent confirm the attachment of PMeOxz onto rGO.