Characterization of electrical conductivity and dielectric properties of electroless NiP/rGO composite coated hemp fiber with various weight% of rGO and coating duration

•Conductive natural fiber development using an electroless Ni-P/rGO coating.•Studied the effect of coating duration and weight percentages in rGO fiber coating.•Analyzed the dielectric and electrical properties of coated natural fiber.•rGO coating enhanced electrical conductivity 13.75 to 37.5% in coated fiber. The present study made an attempt to develop a conductive hemp fiber (HF) through an electroless Ni-P composite coating with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as reinforcement. Four different Ni-P/rGO coated fibers were prepared with the variations in the coating time (20/40 min) and weight percentages of rGO (5/10 %). The coated fibers were characterized using various tools like: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), to identify the functional groups, phase structure, and morphological changes, induced by the rGO reinforcement. The coating duration and weight percentage of rGO had influenced the dielectric properties and electrical conductivity. In comparison, the coating duration of 40 min with 10 % addition of rGO has enhanced the electrical conductivity to 13.75 % and 37.5 % respectively. Furthermore, the mechanism behind the improvement in the conductivity is detailed in this study.