Effect of surface-functionalized reduced graphene oxide on mechanical and tribological properties of bismaleimide composites

Surface-functionalized reduced graphene oxide sheets were obtained by grafting hyperbranched polytriazine (HBPT) onto the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets. The HBPT was prepared through repeating nucleophilic substitution between chloride ions of cyanuric chloride and amino groups of hexamethylenediamine. The hyperbranched polytriazine modified reduced graphene oxide (HBPT-RGO) was then added as the nanofiller and polyamine curing agent in diallyl bisphenol A modified bismaleimide resin (BMI-BA) to fabricate in situ the HBPT-RGO/BMI-BA nanocomposite. The characterization results showed that suitable addition of HBPT-RGO could greatly enhance the mechanical properties and decrease the frictional coefficient and wear rate of the BMI-BA resin dramatically, which might be related to the good compatibility and interfacial adhesion between HBPT-RGO and the BMI-BA matrix.