Highly Washable and Conductive Cotton E-textiles Based on Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Development of conductive textiles is crucial for wearable electronics.
• Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising material for conductive textiles due to its electrical properties.
• Different synthesis methods for GO can significantly impact the performance of derived materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance of cotton e-textiles fabricated using graphene oxide synthesized via two distinct methods: Hummers' method and electrochemical exfoliation.
• To evaluate the electrical conductivity, and mechanical and washing stability of the resulting e-textiles.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of graphene oxide using Hummers' method.
• Synthesis of graphene oxide via electrochemical exfoliation of graphite.
• Fabrication of cotton e-textiles using the synthesized graphene oxide.
• Characterization of e-textiles using electrical resistance measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• E-textiles based on electrochemically exfoliated graphene exhibited significantly higher electrical conductivity (2 kΩ/sq) compared to those from Hummers' method GO (585 kΩ/sq).
• Textiles from electrochemically exfoliated graphene demonstrated superior stability against washing (1.86x resistance increase after 10 cycles) and mechanical stress.
• AFM revealed smaller lateral flake sizes for electrochemically exfoliated GO, while Raman spectroscopy indicated better sp2 structure regeneration after reduction.

Conclusions:

• Electrochemical exfoliation of graphite offers a superior method for producing graphene oxide for high-performance e-textiles.
• The resulting e-textiles possess excellent electrical conductivity and durability, making them suitable for advanced wearable electronic applications.