Production of graphene oxide from pitch-based carbon fiber

Pitch-based graphene oxide (p-GO) whose compositional/structural features are comparable to those of graphene oxide (GO) was firstly produced by chemical exfoliation of pitch-based carbon fiber rather than natural graphite. Incorporation of p-GO as nanofillers into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a matrix polymer resulted in excellent mechanical reinforcement. p-GO/PMMA nanocomposite (1 wt.-% p-GO) demonstrated 800% higher modulus of toughness of neat PMMA.