Structure and Mechanical Performance of Poly(vinyl Alcohol) Nanocomposite by Incorporating Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets

Owing to the high aspect ratio, the two-dimensional (2D) inorganic nanofillers have attracted extensive interest in the field of polymer reinforcement. In this work, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets were obtained via thermal condensation of melamine and were then ultrasonically exfoliated in water, which was confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and TEM. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were achieved by solution casting using water as the solvent. The structure and mechanical performance of PVA/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were studied. It was found that the g-C3N4 nanosheets were well dispersed in the PVA matrix. The introduction of g-C3N4 nanosheets increased the glass transition temperature and crystallinity of the nanocomposites, leading to the improved mechanical performance. Compared with the pure PVA, the PVA/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with 0.50 wt% g-C3N4 nanosheets showed ~70.7% enhancement in tensile strength, up from 51.2 MPa to 87.4 MPa.