Full Length ArticleFunctionalization of cotton fabrics through thermal reduction of graphene oxide
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Functional textiles with electrical conductivity, hydrophobicity, antibacterial and ultraviolet (UV) protection properties have attracted great attention in recent years [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. Several strategies have been developed to fabricate conductive textiles. For example, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been used as a promising candidate for fabricating conductive textile composites [9], [10]. Besides, electrical textiles were prepared through in-situ chemical polymerization of polypyrrole and polyaniline on cotton fabrics [11], [12], [13].
Cotton is the predominant natural fiber in the textile industry because of its natural softness, high hygroscopicity, superior wear comfort and skin-friendliness. Nevertheless, cotton fabrics exhibit weak UV protection and low electrical conductivity [14], [15], [16], which limits the application of cotton in different fields. Moreover, functional modification of cotton fabric is one way to add value and satisfy the increasing needs from consumers [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22]. The abundant hydroxyl groups on the surface of cotton provide active sites for functionalization of fibers with particular additives. Graphene, as a two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial, has received tremendous attention owing to its outstanding mechanical, thermal, optical, electronic properties [23], [24]. Graphene as one of carbon materials possesses high electrical conductivity. Modification of cotton substrate based on graphene can impart conductivity to the substrate materials [25], [26].
However, graphene synthesized using chemical method contains few polar groups, which limits the application of graphene in textiles due to weak bonding force with fibers. Graphene oxide (GO) is a functionalized derivative of graphene, with a large number of polar groups that can easily bind with fiber surfaces [27], [28], [29]. GO is hydrophilic and can readily disperse in water. Various reduction methods such as thermal and chemical reduction were developed to restore its electrical conductivity [30], [31], [32], [33]. RGO has been used in textile field to develop the functionalization of cotton fabrics. Surface coating of graphene or graphene composites rendered textiles with different functions, including electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, UV blocking and hydrophobicity [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39]. It was reported that reducing agents including hydrazine hydrate, sodium borohydride and ascorbic acid could reduce GO to graphene. Although effective in reducing graphene oxide, most of these methods are complex and may result in pollution of environment because of the toxicity of some reducing agents. Thus, it is important to explore environment friendly reduction methods of GO.
In this study, the functionalization of cotton fabric was realized by in-situ thermal reduction of GO adsorbed on cotton. Combination of cotton and GO was achieved by a conventional “dip and dry” approach. The GO on cotton fabrics was reduced. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was obtained from reduction of GO on cotton by heat in nitrogen atmosphere. The coating of RGO on cotton imparted different functions to cotton fabrics, such as electrical conductivity, ultraviolet blocking and hydrophobicity.
Section snippets
Materials
White plain weave cotton fabrics (120 g·m−2), with 125 picks (thread/cm) in weft direction and 115 ends (thread/cm) in warp direction, were used in this study. Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with a thickness of 0.8-1.2 nm and two-dimensional length of 0.5–5 μm were provided by Nanjing Xianfeng Nano Science and Technology Ltd, China. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was purchased from Chengjie Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. All chemicals were of analytical grade and used without further purification.
Instruments
Scanning
Preparation and characterization of RGO/cotton fabrics
The pure cotton fabric samples changed to brownish yellow from white after the samples were dipped into graphene oxide suspension and dried in a vacuum oven (Fig. 1a and b). The color change implies that GO nanosheets were adsorbed to the fabrics. The GO coated cotton fabric samples were heated under the protection of nitrogen and the color of fabrics converted into black from brownish yellow (Fig. 1c), which may be due to production of RGO from GO on cotton during heat treatment.
SEM was
Conclusions
RGO/cotton fabrics were in-situ prepared by heating cotton coated with GO under nitrogen protection. SEM characterization demonstrated that RGO nanosheets were attached to the surface of cotton fibers. FTIR, XPS and Raman analyses revealed that the GO nanosheets coated on cotton were converted to RGO through a heat treatment process. The incorporation of RGO on cotton imparted multi-functions to fabrics. The obtained RGO/cotton fabrics showed good electrical conductivity. The values of surface
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 51403162 and 51503164), the MoE Innovation Team Project in Biological Fibers Advanced Textile Processing and Clean Production (No. IRT13086), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (No. 2014CFB760) and “Future Star” project of Wuhan Textile University (No. 143053 and 143054).
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