Synthesis of graphene peroxide and its application in fabricating super extensible and highly resilient nanocomposite hydrogels.

Functionalized graphene has been considered as one of the most important materials for preparing polymer nanocomposites due to its unique physical structure and properties. To increase the interfacial interaction between polymer component and graphene oxide (GO) sheets, in situ grafting polymerization initiated by a free radical initiator immobilized on GO sheets is a better choice. We report a facile and effective strategy for preparing graphene peroxide (GPO) via the radiation-induced peroxidation of GO. The formation of peroxides on GO is proven by iodometric measurement and other characterizations. Using GPO as a polyfunctional initiating and cross-linking center, we obtained GO composite hydrogels exhibiting excellent mechanical properties, namely, very high tensile strength (0.2-1.2 MPa), extremely high elongations (2000-5300%), and excellent resilience. This work provides new insight into the fabrication of GO/polymer nanocomposites to fulfill the excellent mechanical properties of graphene.