Evaluation of aging resistance of graphene oxide modified asphalt

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) has a unique layered structure with excellent gas and liquid blocking properties. It is widely used in many areas, such as gas sensors, carbon-based electronics, impermeable membranes, and polymeric composite materials. In order to evaluate whether GO (1% and 3% by weight of asphalt) can improve the aging resistance performance of the asphalt, 80/100 penetration grade asphalt (90 A) and styrene–butadiene–styrene modified asphalt (SBS MA) were used to prepare the GO modified asphalt by the melt blending method. The surface morphology of the GO was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The UV aging test was conducted to simulate the aging during the service period. After UV aging test, the physical performances of GO-modified asphalts were tested, and the IC=O and IS=O increments were tested by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to evaluate the aging resistance performance of the GO modified asphalt. In addition, the rheological properties of GO modified asphalts were studied using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). The SEM analysis indicated that the GO exhibits many shared edges, and no agglomeration phenomenon was found. With respect to the physical performance test, the FTIR and the DSR results show that GO can improve the UV aging resistance performance of 90 A and SBS MA. In addition, the analysis indicated that the improvement effect of 3% GO is better than the 1% GO. The testing on the rheological properties of the modified asphalt indicated that the GO can also improve the thermo-oxidative aging resistance performance of asphalt.