Abstract

Background: Coating of graphene on to a flexible substrate such as polyester fabric was achieved by a facile method to develop electroconductive material. The fabric showed satisfactory conductivity in terms of surface and volume resistivity and decay time.

Objective: Conducting graphene coated fabric was fabricated by chemically reducing graphene oxide (GO) on polyester fabrics by using sodium hydrosulphite from an exhaust bath.

Method: The characterization of the fabric was performed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The conducting nature of the fabric was established by measuring surface resistivity, volume resistivity and static charge decay time.

Results: Mechanical properties as well as contact angle of the treated fabrics was also measured. Graphene coated fabric showed excellent conductivity and hydrophobic nature.

Conclusion: The resultant textile material can be used as an electroconductive, antistatic, hydrophobic product which include carpets for computer rooms, upholstery, fabrics and airbags for automobiles, conveyor belts, filtration fabrics, airmail bags, parachutes, fabrics for hospital operating rooms, and protective clothing for work with flammable gases and liquids.

Keywords: Graphene oxide, graphene, polyester fabric, sodium hydrosulphite, graphene oxide (GO), sodium hydrosulphite.

Graphical Abstract