Electro-conductivity, bioactivity and UV protection of graphene oxide-treated cellulosic/polyamide fabric using inorganic and organic reducing agents

Here, graphene oxide (GO) was treated on the cellulosic/polyamide fabric reduced with various inorganic and organic compounds and compared the color changes, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, antibacterial/antifungal and ultraviolet protection properties. The graphite oxide was first synthesized using graphite and sonicated to obtain GO. It was then dissolved in distilled water along with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to prepare a stable solution for long-time adsorbing more and uniform GO on cellulosic/polyamide fabric through exhaustion method. The GO-treated fabric was reduced to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with inorganic and organic reducing agents including sodium dithionite with and without sodium hydroxide and dopamine hydrochloride at various temperatures. More fabricated GO reduced to rGO at higher temperature using dopamine produced lower electrical resistance. The antimicrobial activities of various samples were tested against two Gram-negative bacteria, E. coli and P. aeruginosa, two Gram-positive bacteria, S. aureus and E. faecalis and one eukaryotic fungus C. albicans. Ultraviolet protection was examined through reflectance spectra showed no UV transmittance from most of the treated fabrics. Further, CTAB was effective to load more GO on the fabric improved electrical resistance and higher antibacterial properties using both reducing agents.