Fabrication of hemicelluloses films with enhanced mechanical properties by graphene oxide for humidity sensing

An effective and green method to incorporate graphene oxide into quaternized hemicelluloses to form a hemicelluloses based film was introduced in this study. Tight, homogeneous, and smooth surfaces of the film were obtained from the SEM image. Data on the mechanical properties of the films indicated that the hybrid films prepared from QH and GO (component of GO was 4.8%) exhibited a high tensile strength of 43.83 MPa. This finding suggested that addition of GO contributed to the desirable mechanical properties of the hybrid film. The hybrid films exhibited high sensitivity to humidity; they could be bent spontaneously under wet conditions within seconds and stretched under dry conditions. In addition, the results of DMA indicated that the storage modulus of the hybrid films had an order of magnitude change in value at different humidities. These characteristics show that films can be potentially used in bio-medicine, packaging materials, and humidity sensors.