Nacre-like graphene paper reinforced by polybenzimidazole

Abstract

Nacre-like graphene paper reinforced by a high-performance aromatic polymer is reported for the first time. Polybenzimidazole (PBI) was selected as the organic phase to glue the graphene papers. The graphene/PBI composite papers were prepared by solution-casting of graphene oxide (GO)/PBI mixtures followed by in situ chemical reduction. SEM and XRD demonstrated the well-layered structures of the papers. It was found that the mechanical properties of both GO and reduced GO (RGO) papers were significantly improved by the incorporation of PBI due to the strong interactions between imidazole groups in polymer chains and oxygen functionalities in GO and RGO. The conductivity measurement also suggested the good electrical properties of the RGO composite papers. Moreover, as the excellent thermal stability of PBI, the thermal stabilities of the RGO composite papers were found to be much better than that of RGO paper. It is expected that the combination of good mechanical, electrical and thermal properties could make this novel composite paper a potential material for many applications.