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 143.2A degrees A A +/- A 2.9A degrees and SHA of 41A degrees. The formation of PMS nanofilaments displayed superhydrophobicity with CA of 163A degrees A A +/- A 3.4A degrees and SHA of 7A degrees, which indicated the self-cleaning ability. Conductivity of the graphene-coated fabric was confirmed by the electrical resistivity of 91.8 k Omega/sq which increased to 112.5 k Omega/sq after the formation of PMS nanofilaments.