Explosive percolation yields highly-conductive polymer nanocomposites

Meloni, M. ; Large, M. J. ; González Domínguez, J. M. ; Victor-Román, S. ; Fratta, G. ; Istif, E. ; Tomes, O. ; Salvage, J. P. ; Ewels, C. P. ; Peláez-Fernandez, M. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Arenal, R. ; Benito, A. ; Maser, W. K. ; King, A. A. K. ; Ajayan, P. M. ; Ogilvie, S. P. ; Dalton, A. B.

Resumen: Explosive percolation is an experimentally-elusive phenomenon where network connectivity coincides with onset of an additional modification of the system; materials with correlated localisation of percolating particles and emergent conductive paths can realise sharp transitions and high conductivities characteristic of the explosively-grown network. Nanocomposites present a structurally- and chemically-varied playground to realise explosive percolation in practically-applicable systems but this is yet to be exploited by design. Herein, we demonstrate composites of graphene oxide and synthetic polymer latex which form segregated networks, leading to low percolation threshold and localisation of conductive pathways. In situ reduction of the graphene oxide at temperatures of <150 °C drives chemical modification of the polymer matrix to produce species with phenolic groups, which are known crosslinking agents. This leads to conductivities exceeding those of dense-packed networks of reduced graphene oxide, illustrating the potential of explosive percolation by design to realise low-loading composites with dramatically-enhanced electrical transport properties.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34631-9

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Nature communications 13 (2022), 6872[9 pp.]
ISSN: 2041-1723

Factor impacto JCR: 16.6 (2022)

Categ. JCR: MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES rank: 6 / 73 = 0.082 (2022) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 24.9 - Physics and Astronomy (Q1) - General (Q1) - Chemistry (Q1) - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 5.116 - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Chemistry (miscellaneous) (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T03-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/642742/EU/Graphene-based nanomaterials for touchscreen technologies: Comprehension, Commerce and Communication/Enabling Excellence
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-AEI/PID2019-104272RB-C51/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Física Materia Condensada (Dpto. Física Materia Condensa.)