Preparation and characterization of biodegradable polyurethanes composites filled with silver nanoparticles-decorated graphene

In this study, polyurethane (PU) was synthesized using 4,4,-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) as a hard segment, polycaprolactone diol (PCL) as the soft segments and 1,4-butandiol (1,4-BD) as a chain extender. Nanosilver/graphene (Ag/G) was added to the PU matrix to prepare Ag/G/PU nanocomposites. EDS, SEM and XRD are used for assaying the silver content and characterization of Ag/G. TEM, FT-IR, XRD and EDS were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites. The TEM results show that Ag/G belongs to sheet structures and is dispersed in a PU matrix. The SEM showed that the strong interfacial adhesion between the Ag/G and PU is indicated. FT-IR spectra analysis shows that the functional group of PU is free of obvious changes by adding a small amount of Ag/G in the PU matrix. XRD results showed that the main crystalline peak (26°) of Ag/G became more apparent with increasing content of Ag/G, and EDS showed that the content of Ag increased with increasing content of Ag/G in the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites are improved with increasing content of Ag/G. Contact angle and AFM results showed that the hydrophobicity and surface roughness increased with increasing content of Ag/G. Moreover, the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites exhibit antibacterial activities toward Staphylococcus aureus as well as Escherichia coli and their antibacterial rates increase with increasing Ag/G. In addition, the electrical conductivity measurements showed that both surface and volume resistance of the Ag/G/PUs nanocomposites decreased as the amount of Ag/G increased.