Fabrication and characterization of nanosilver intercalated graphene embedded poly(vinyl chloride)composite thin films

Ag intercalated graphene nanoparticles were suspended in N, N-di-methylformamide (DMF) solution of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Composite thin films were prepared by drop casting on a smooth surface followed by evaporation of the solvent. Conducting nanoparticles were uniformly decorated into the polymer matrix. Composites were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, TEM, and XRD techniques. Electrical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of the thin films were investigated. Electrical resistance measurements reveal that the composite layers show very low percolation threshold (0.8 wt.% of conducting phase) and maximum electrical conductivity of 4.23 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm achieve at 5.0 wt.% (3.02 vol.%) of the Ag/graphene (Ag/G) nanoparticles loading. A significant enhancement in the mechanical properties of pure PVC films was obtained with a 4.0 wt.% (2.42 vol.%) loading of Ag/G, so 422.7 % increase in Young’s modulus and an almost 320 % improvement of tensile strength were obtained. In addition the results of the thermogravimetric analysis showed that the composite thin films are thermally more stable than the pure PVC polymer layers.