Preparation of lignocellulose/graphene composite conductive paper

Practical production of conductive paper requires the balancing of high electrical conductance, thermal stability and tensile modulus, with cost effectiveness. By utilizing lignocellulose (3.85 ± 0.35% and 17.17 ± 0.62% lignin contents) and graphite as starting materials, a lignocellulose/reduced graphene oxide (LRGO) composite conductive paper is successfully fabricated. The free-standing LRGO paper has a low sheet resistance of 506 ± 34 Ω/sq with a graphene derivative content of ~ 20 wt%. Also high T onset (312 °C) and T 95 (251 °C) are observed, along with a tensile modulus up to 8.36 GPa if ten additional passes of microfluidization are used. Moreover, LRGO paper was used to make active electrodes for a supercapacitor that achieved a specific capacitance of 77.0 F/g. There has been minimal reporting of applying lignocellulose in conductive paper production, so this new method is anticipated to pave the way for developing advanced materials derived from low cost biomass. Graphical abstract