Studies on the improvement of thermal, dielectric and optical properties of poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) by the addition of graphite oxide as fillers

In this study, poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) homopolymer (PTFEMA) was synthesized via free radical polymerization method, and its composites with graphite oxide (GO) were prepared to improve its dielectric and thermal properties. Thermogravimetric evaluation revealed that graphite oxide acts to limit thermal diffusion throughout the PTFEMA loaded graphite oxide (GO) composite, and hence, thermal stability of composites improved. While the initial decomposition temperature of pure PTFEMA was found to be 233°C from thermogravimetric analysis measurements, the initial decomposition temperature of PTFEMA containing 5 wt% graphite oxide was found to be 251°C. The glass transition temperatures of the composites increased from 76°C to 86°C due to the increase in the amount of graphite oxide added to PTFEMA. The dielectric properties of composites were investigated from 100 Hz to 10 kHz for different temperatures. While the dielectric constant, ε′, of pure PTFEMA at 1 kHz at room temperature was found to be 3.00, that of the PTFEMA containing 5 wt% GO was found 10.32. Therefore, graphite oxide doped PTFEMA composites may be suitable candidates for energy storage applications. The dc conductivity and dielectric loss factor of PTFEMA containing 5 wt% graphite oxide were seen to increase with temperature.