Synthesis of a novel fluorinated graphene oxide hybrid material based on poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) and its use as a filler for thermoplastic polyurethane film

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized via modified Hummers method. The GO was grafted with poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) (PPFSGO) by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). This material was used as a novel filler for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to prepare composite films via solution casting method. FTIR, Raman and XRD spectroscopy analyses confirmed the formation of proposed hybrid structure. SEM analysis indicated that the GO layers of PPFSGO were exfoliated and decorated with weblike PPFS. Particularly, the contact angle measurements showed that the contact angle of TPU based composite films could be increased by 20% compared to bare TPU film with the incorporation of 10 wt% of PPFSGO while preserving thermal stability and electrically insulating properties. These results revealed that the herein proposed PPFSGO hybrid material is a promising candidate to adjust the wettability of TPU films without compatibility issues. • GO was synthesized via modified Hummers method. • GO grafted poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) was prepared by SI-ATRP. • TPU based composite films were prepared by using the GO based material as filler. • Water contact angle of TPU based composite films was increased by 20%.