Abstract
This research investigated a feasible approach to fabricating electrically conductive knitted fabrics using previously wet-spun wool/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite fibre. In the production of the composite fibre, waste wool fibres and PAN were used, whereby both the control PAN (100% PAN) and wool/PAN composite fibres (25% wool) were knitted into fabrics. The knitted fabrics were coated with graphene oxide (GO) using the brushing and drying technique and then chemically reduced using hydrazine to introduce the electrical conductivity. The morphological study showed the presence of GO sheets wrinkles on the coated fabrics and their absence on reduced fabrics, which supports successful coating and a reduction of GO. This was further confirmed by the colour change properties of the fabrics. The colour strength (K/S) of the reduced control PAN and wool/PAN fabrics increased by ~410% and ~270%, and the lightness (L*) decreased ~65% and ~71%, respectively, compared to their pristine fabrics. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence and absence of the GO functional groups along with the PAN and amide groups in the GO-coated and reduced fabrics. Similarly, the X-ray diffraction analysis exhibited a typical 2θ peak at 10⁰ that represents the existence of GO, which was demolished after the reduction process. Moreover, the wool/PAN/reduced GO knitted fabrics showed higher electrical conductivity (~1.67 S/cm) compared to the control PAN/reduced GO knitted fabrics (~0.35 S/cm). This study shows the potential of fabricating electrically conductive fabrics using waste wool fibres and graphene that can be used in different application fields.
Highlights
The electrically conductive fabrics, known as smart fabrics, are currently receiving more attention from both industrial and academic research communities due to their potential application in wearable textiles, supercapacitors, actuators, batteries, electronic displays, solar panels, sensors, health monitoring systems, and the automobile industry [1,2,3]
The wrinkles produced from the graphene oxide (GO) sheet are observed on the control PAN/GO knitted fabric (CPGOKF) and wool/PAN/GO knitted fabric (WPGOKF) surface that proved the exfoliation of expandable graphite into graphene and the existence of oxygen-containing functional groups, as reported in our previous study [19]
This study investigated a facile approach to producing an electrically conductive knitted fabric utilising natural fibre waste that can be applied in diverse application areas
Summary
The electrically conductive fabrics, known as smart fabrics, are currently receiving more attention from both industrial and academic research communities due to their potential application in wearable textiles, supercapacitors, actuators, batteries, electronic displays, solar panels, sensors, health monitoring systems, and the automobile industry [1,2,3]. To impart the electrical conductivity into fabrics, up until now, several approaches have been followed, such as the insertion of metallic wires into fabrics, chemical metallisation and galvanisation of fibres, fabrication of textile fibres with the piezoelectric materials, and even the application of conductive polymer films onto the fabric surface [4,5] These approaches exhibit some major drawbacks, such as the utilisation of toxic and corrosive chemicals, increased fabric weight, formation of additional gaps between the yarns that result in lower dimensional stability of the fabrics, reducing the wearability, flexibility, stretchability, and comfort of the garment [2,6]. The addition of only 0.03% (by weight) graphene with concrete can deteriorate 25–33% carbon footprint and 2% global carbon emissions [11]
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