Preparation of superhydrophobic electroconductive graphene-coated cotton cellulose

A simple and versatile method based on cotton cellulose coated with graphene is reported for the fabrication of superhydrophobic and electroconductive textiles. Graphene oxide was deposited on cotton fibers by a dip-pad-dry method followed by reduction with ascorbic acid to yield a fabric with a layer of graphene. The fabric was then reacted with methyltrichlorosilane to form polymethylsiloxane (PMS) nanofilaments on the fibers surface. The surface chemistry and morphology were characterized by UV–visible reflectance spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle (CA)/shedding angle (SHA) and resistivity measurements were used for assessing hydrophobicity and conductivity, respectively. The graphene-coated fabric showed hydrophobicity with the CA of 143.2° ± 2.9° and SHA of 41°. The formation of PMS nanofilaments displayed superhydrophobicity with CA of 163° ± 3.4° and SHA of 7°, which indicated the self-cleaning ability. Conductivity of the graphene-coated fabric was confirmed by the electrical resistivity of 91.8 kΩ/sq which increased to 112.5 kΩ/sq after the formation of PMS nanofilaments.