Graphene nanoribbon coated flexible and conductive cotton fabric

Abstract

In the present study, the graphene nanoribbon was prepared and was coated to the cotton fabric using a wet coating approach. The prepared graphene nanoribbon coated cotton fabric was characterized in terms of morphological, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties. It was shown from the results that the graphene nanoribbons were uniformly distributed on the surface of the cotton fibers and interacted with the cotton fibers through hydrogen interactions. The graphene nanoribbon coating improved the thermal stability of the cotton fabric. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the cotton fabric improved significantly as well. Due to the incorporation of the rigid filler, the tensile stress and the Young's modulus increased by 58.9% and 64.1%, respectively. More significantly, the graphene nanoribbon coated cotton fabric was highly conductive. The resistance of the cotton fabric had a linear dependence on the strain of it when the applied strain was 20%. The prepared graphene nanoribbon coated cotton fabric has great application potentials in smart textile industry.