Highly aligned graphene oxideipoly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite fibers with high-strength, antiultraviolet and antibacterial properties

Demands for the strong and multifunctional fiber has substantially increased in textile industry, biomedical, and biotechnological applications. This study explores to fabricate nanocomposite functional fibers by embedding highly oriented graphene oxide (GO) into the poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix. The GO/PVA nanocomposite fibers were prepared via gel spinning and subsequent hot drawing process. The tensile strength of the produced GO/PVA nanocomposite fibers was significantly enhanced owing to the uniformly dispersed and oriented GO nanosheets. Additionally, the ultraviolet protection factor of the highly aligned GO/PVA nanocomposite fibers is about 16 times than that of the neat PVA fiber. The as-prepared GO/PVA nanocomposite fibers also exhibit significant activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. This highly aligned and integrated approach suggests an effective method to prepare graphene-based nanocomposites fibers with high performances and novel functional characteristics. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.