Interfacial Electronic Interactions of Magnetic Graphene Oxide With Reactive Agents: A Strategy for Cure Kinetics Control and Enhanced Dynamic Mechanical Properties in Unsaturated Polyester Resin

ABSTRACT In this study, magnetic graphene oxide (MAGO) was used for its ability to establish interfacial electronic interactions (due to the available orbitals of Fe 3 O 4 ) with reactive agents during the curing of unsaturated polyester resin (UPRE), including alkyd chains, peroxide molecules, cobalt octoate, and free radicals. These interactions may contribute to the targeted control of the curing reaction by reducing styrene homopolymerization, promoting alkyd–styrene copolymerization, and enhancing the regularity of the polymer network. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) at different filler loadings (0.05–0.7 wt%) revealed increases of up to 107% in storage modulus and 12°C in glass transition temperature ( T g ) at 0.6 wt% MAGO. Tensile and flexural tests further confirmed improvements in the mechanical performance of the resin. Cure kinetics and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses demonstrated a significant reduction in the Vyazovkin–Sbirrazzuoli diffusion parameters ( E D and K ), supporting the formation of a more regular network structure. The combined spectroscopic, kinetic, dynamic mechanical, tensile, and flexural results suggest that MAGO modifies the curing behavior of UPRE through interfacial electronic interactions, leading to enhanced network regularity and improved mechanical performance.