Smart Textiles with Janus Wetting and Wicking Properties Fabricated by Graphene Oxide Coatings

• Published in: Advanced materials interfaces Vol. 8; no. 2
• Main Authors: Guan, Xinyi, Wang, Xi, Huang, Yuhao, Zhao, Lihuan, Sun, Xuantong, Owens, Huw, Lu, Jian Ren, Liu, Xuqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Antigravity; Fibers; Garments; Graphene; graphene oxide coatings; Hydrophobicity; Janus wetting, moisture management; Moisture; Oxide coatings; Smart materials; smart textiles; Textiles; Wetting; wicking properties
• ISSN: 2196-7350; 2196-7350
• DOI: 10.1002/admi.202001427

The interaction between water and fibers is critical in the physiological comfort of garments, especially inner wears. Antigravity directional water transport and ultrafast evaporation are the two key indicators to be expected of a high‐performance moisture management textile. However, it is practically still challenging to make the textiles with continuous directional liquid moisture transport and outstanding prevention of water penetration in the reverse direction. In this work, a Janus functional textile achieved by graphene oxide (GO) coating is developed, with the GO coating side on the textile working as the outer side for its good moisture absorbing and spreading features and the reduced GO coating side serving as the inner layer because of its hydrophobicity. Performance of the as‐prepared textile is characterized by moisture management tester, exhibiting remarkable accumulative one‐way transport index R (1145%) and a desired overall moisture management capacity (0.77) within 120 s, the negative R value (−690.4%) indicates an ultrahigh directional liquid moisture transport capacity. The Janus textile can provide a source of inspiration for the development of more adaptive textiles and garments to maximize personal comfort in demanding situations under hot and humid environments. Smart Janus textiles with continuous and one‐way directional liquid moisture transport from asymmetric surface engineering forming a high wettability gradient after GO and rGO coating, with the functional materials offering great potential in faster perspiration releasing and other smart textile applications.