This thesis presents the concept of preparation of electrically conductive graphene composites. We want to prepare such composites for applications in electrochemistry, for example as flow electrodes. Graphene is a one-dimensional layer of carbon atoms arranged in hexagons. It is an electrically conductive material, while most polymers are not. Polymers prepared by the polyHIPE process are highly porous and can be used in many analytical techniques, such as chromatography. In the preparation of the polymer, electrically conductive carbon materials can be mixed into the mixture to obtain a conductive emulsion. If the prepared emulsion is well dispersed (no particle settling or phase separation), it can be polymerized by the radical polymerization process on the transfer atom, with activators regenerated by electron transfer (ATRP/ARGET), which is very easy because the resulting emulsion only the surfactant, is added and mixed. With such composites, electrical conductivity can be measured and the morphology and particle distribution as well as the chemical composition of the sample can be determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
As part of the experimental work, I added different proportions of different carbon materials to the polymer matrix (conductive amorphous carbon – CCB, multiwall carbon nano tubes – MWCNT and reduced graphene oxide – rGO) and the homogeneity of the distribution of carbon materials across the polymer matrix.
|
