Fire-resistant and highly electrically conductive silk fabrics fabricated with reduced graphene oxide via dry-coating

• Published in: Materials & design Vol. 133; pp. 528 - 535
• Main Authors: Ji, Yimin, Li, Yuzhou, Chen, Guoqiang, Xing, Tieling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 05.11.2017
• Subjects: Conductor; Electrical conductivity; Fire resistance; Human motion signal sensor; Reduced graphene oxide; Silk fabric; Fire resistance; Human motion signal sensor; Conductor; Electrical conductivity; Reduced graphene oxide; Silk fabric
• ISSN: 0264-1275; 1873-4197
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2017.08.006

Large-scale and functional silk fabrics were prepared by depositing synthetic graphene oxide (GO) hydrosol onto fabrics via an environmentally friendly “dry-coating” method and subsequently reduced in l-ascorbic acid solution. Through this modification method, the reduced GO (rGO) sheets deposited uniformly on the silk fabric surface were firmly combined with fibres. Up to 19.5wt% rGO could be deposited relative to the fabric weight. The morphology and structure of prepared rGO-coated silk fabric were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectrometry. In comparison with pristine silk fabric, the modified silk fabric exhibited improved fire resistance and smoke suppression properties. The sheet resistance of rGO-coated silk fabric decreased to 0.13kΩ/sq. Washing test indicated that the rGO-coated silk fabrics prepared had good durability for common use. The functional silk fabric deposited with 19.5wt% rGO was designed into a fire-resistant conductor that kept conducting even after 60s of combustion and can be applied in the fire-fighting field. The silk fabric deposited with 3.9wt% rGO was successfully assembled into a human motion signal sensor; this easily fabricated, highly sensitive, and flexible sensor has potential for use as wearable devices. [Display omitted] •A novel “dry-coating” method was successfully applied to deposit graphene oxide (GO) hydrosol onto silk fabrics.•The modified silk fabrics exhibited excellent fire resistance property and high electrical conductivity simultaneously.•The modified silk fabric could be used as a conductor both at ambient temperature and in the burning flame.•The modified silk fabric was successfully designed into a wearable and highly sensitive human motion signal sensor.