Preparation of graphene oxide and its modification effect on base asphalt

In this paper, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by pressurized oxidation method and GO-modified asphalt was prepared by solution melting method. The structure and morphology of GO was characterized by Raman spectra, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the results showed that single-layer or few-layer large size GO was obtained. The chemical structure of the GO-modified asphalt and the SARA (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) components were characterized by FTIR and thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detector (TLC/FID). In addition, the effect of GO on the physical properties of base asphalt was also studied. The results showed that there was no chemical change in the modification process and that GO was physically dispersed in the asphalt. GO has little influence on the penetration, ductility, softening point and penetration index of asphalt, the adhesion and temperature stability of asphalt are not changed much. The addition of GO differs from the adsorption of light components by polymer-modified asphalt, but fundamentally hinders the thermal oxygen conversion between the components and improved the low-temperature crack resistance of modified asphalt.