Effects of graphene oxide concentration and frequency on morphology, mechanical and rheological studies of fluoroelastomer nanocomposites

Fluoroelastomer nanocomposites have been prepared using different concentrations (1-5 wt%) of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles through mechanical mixing and compression molding. The surface morphology of prepared fluoroelastomer/GO nanocomposites has been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties of fluoroelastomer nanocomposites show increase in hardness, tensile strength, modulus, toughness and decrease in elongation at break with the increasing of GO's concentration. This can be attributed towards excellent distribution of GO nanoparticles in the fluoroelastomer matrix. The effect of GO nanoparticle concentration on rheological properties of fluoroelastomer nanocomposites like: loss factor, storage modulus, loss modulus and complex viscosity have been studied as a function of temperature (5-100 degrees C) and at different frequency 1, 10, and 100 Hz. The non-linear relationship between storage and loss moduli have been observed through Cole-Cole plots of fluoroelastomer/GO nanocomposites. The linear relationship of loss factor and storage modulus plots was explained on the basis of fluoroelastomer/GO interactions. The visco-elastic properties show increase in loss modulus, storage modulus, complex viscosity and decrease in loss factor with GO concentration, which can be attributed towards better fluoroelastomer-nanoparticle interactions.