Antistatic PVC-graphene Composite through Plasticizer-mediated Exfoliation of Graphite

Multilayer graphene was prepared by mechanical exfoliation of natural graphite with dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as milling medium without solvent. The obtained mixture could be directly mixed with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) for melt-forming, with DOP acting as plasticizer and graphene acting as conductive filler for antistatic performance. The composite showed surface resistance of 2.5 ×106 Ω/□ at 1 wt% carbon additive, significantly lower than approx. 7 wt% of raw graphite required for achieving the same level. This value is low enough for practical antistatic criterion of 3 × 108 Ω/□. The effect of filler addition on mechanical performance was minimal, or beneficial for the milled carbon in contrast to the case of raw graphite.