Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was fabricated using gelatin as a reductant, and it could be stably dispersed in gelatin solution without aggregation. A series of RGO/gelatin composite films with various RGO contents were prepared by a solution-casting method. The structure and thermal properties of the RGO/gelatin composite films were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The addition of RGO enhances the degree of crosslinking of gelatin films and decreases the swelling ability of the gelatin films in water, indicating that RGO/gelatin composite films have a better wet stability than gelatin films. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of gelatin films is also increased with the incorporation of RGO. The presence of RGO slightly increases the degradation temperature of gelatin films due to the very low content of RGO in the composite films. Since gelatin is a natural and nontoxic biomacromolecule, the RGO/gelatin composite films are expected to have potential applications in the biomedical field.

Keywords: reduced graphene oxide; composite materials; thin films; glass transition.