LAUSR

Abstract In this study, polystyrene (PS) and octadecylamine (ODA) were grafted onto the graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), to obtain GNPs/PS and GNPs/ODA which were then composited with styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) to prepare GNPs/ODA-SBS and GNPs/PS-SBS incorporated modified asphalts. The performance, aging process and chemical aspects of different modified asphalts were analyzed via three major indexes (ductility, penetration, and softening point), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy (FM) tests. Test results illustrated that softening point of the aged asphalt is reduced while the ductility increased slightly. Compared with their original state, softening point of the 0.08% GNPs/ODA-SBS modified asphalt decreased by about 9.32% after aging, while 0.04% GNPs/PS-SBS modified asphalt exhibited maximum increase in aging (decreased by 9.8%). Furthermore, the aged asphalt with modified GNPs (mGNPs) added exhibited improved viscoelastic properties and high temperature stability as compared to the pure aged SBS modified asphalt. This phenomenon was attributed to the inhibition of oxidation reaction during the aging process of mGNPs in the SBS modified asphalt, and hence can be deemed of great potential for practical applications and long-term storage of asphalt.