Preparation of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene/Graphene Nanocomposite In situ Polymerization via Spherical and Sandwich Structure Graphene/Sio2 Support

Reduced graphene oxide/SiO2 (RGO/SiO2) serving as a novel spherical support for Ziegler-Natta (Z-N) catalyst is reported. The surface and interior of the support has a porous architecture formed by RGO/SiO2 sandwich structure. The sandwich structure is like a brick wall coated with a graphene layer of concreted as skeleton which could withstand external pressures and endow the structure with higher support stabilities. After loading the Z-N catalyst, the active components anchor on the surface and internal pores of the supports. When the ethylene molecules meet the active centers, the molecular chains grow from the surface and internal catalytic sites in a regular and well-organized way. And the process of the nascent molecular chains filled in the sandwich structure polymerization could ensure the graphene disperse uniformly in the polymer matrix. Compared with traditional methods, the porous spherical graphene support of this strategy has far more advantages and could maintain an intrinsic graphene performance in the nanocomposites.