The mixed suspension was then coagulated into this website a large amount of stirring water. The precipitated fibrous mixture was washed with distilled water and ethanol and then collected

using vacuum filtration. By drying at 70°C overnight, the fibrous mixture was finally hot-pressed at 200°C. This process converted GO to TRG [15], thereby forming AgNW/TRG/PVDF hybrid composites. The composite samples were pressed into sheets of about 0.5 mm thick for the electrical characterization. Characterization The morphology of AgNWs and AgNW/TRG/PVDF composites were examined in scanning electron microscopes (SEMs; JEOL JSM 820 and JEOL FEG JSM 6335; JEOL Ltd., Akishima-shi, Japan). Static electrical conductivity of the composites was measured with an Agilent 4284A Precision LCR Meter (Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA). The specimen surfaces were coated with silver ink to form electrodes. Moreover, the specimens were placed inside a computer-controlled

temperature chamber to allow temperature-dependent conductivity measurements. Results and discussion Figure  2 shows static electrical conductivity of the TRG/PVDF composites at room temperature. From the percolation theory, a rapid increase in electrical conductivity occurs when the Trichostatin A chemical structure conductive fillers form a conductive path across the polymer matrix of a composite. The conductivity of the composite σ(p) above the percolation threshold (p c) is given by [40, 41]: Figure 2 Electrical conductivity of Selleck Lazertinib TRG/PVDF composites as a function of TRG content. Inset, log σ vs. log(p – p c) plot. Close circles are data points. Red solid lines in both graphs are calculated conductivities by fitting experimental

data to Equation 1. Fitting results are p c = 0.12 ± 0.02 vol %, t = 2.61 ± 0.22, and σ 0 = 1,496.43 ± 136.38 S/cm. (1) where p is the filler content and t the critical exponent. Nonlinear fitting in Figure  2 gives p c = 0.12 vol %. We attribute the low p c to the high aspect ratio of TRG sheets, which lead to easier GBA3 connectivity in forming a conductive network. Although the TRG/PVDF composites have a small p c, their conductivity at p c is quite low, i.e., in the order of approximately 10-7 S/cm. Such a low conductivity renders percolating TRG/PVDF composites can be used only for antistatic applications. From Figure  2, the conductivity reaches approximately 5 × 10-3 S/cm at 1 vol % TRG. As recognized, TRGs still contain residual oxygenated groups despite high temperature annealing [15]. In other words, TRGs are less conductive than pristine graphene. To improve electrical conductive properties, AgNWs are added to the TRG/PVDF composites as hybridized fillers. Figure  3a shows the effect of AgNW addition on electrical conductivity of AgNW/TRG/PVDF hybrids. Apparently, electrical conductivity of the 0.04 vol % TRG/PVDF and 0.08 vol % TRG/PVDF composites increases with increasing AgNW content, especially for latter hybrid composite system.