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

Abstract

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.