Ternary hybrid polymeric nanocomposites through grafting of polystyrene on graphene oxide-TiO₂ by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP)

A ternary hybrid of graphene oxide-titania-polystyrene (GO-TiO₂-PS) nanocomposite is developed where polystyrene composition is regulated by controlling growth of polymer chains and nanoarchitectonics is discussed. Graphene Oxide-TiO₂ (GO-TiO₂) nanocomposite is prepared by in-situ hydrothermal method and the surface is anchored with α-bromoisobutyryl bromide to activate GO-TiO₂ as initiator for polymerization. In-situ grafting of polystyrene through surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI- ATRP) on this Br-functionalized nano-composite initiator yields GO-TiO₂-PS ternary hybrid. Varying the monomer amount and keeping the concentration of initiator constant, polystyrene chain growth is regulated with narrow poly-dispersivity to achieve desired composition. This composite is well characterized by various analytical techniques like FTIR, XRD, DSC, SEM, TEM, and TGA. - Highlights: • Nanocomposite of ternary hybrid of GO-TiO₂ with polystyrene. • PS is surface grafted on GO-TiO₂. • Polymer chain lengths are well regulated by SI-ATRP living polymerization. • Thermal stability of this hybrid is relatively high.