Title: Graphene derivative and metal nanoparticles coated silk fabrics with durable, multifunctional properties for numerous potential applications

Abstract

In recent times graphene-coated natural fabrics have drawn massive attention due to their unique multifunctional activities. The incorporation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) on top of graphene could boost its properties further because of the synergistic impact of graphene and NPs. Herein, we fabricated reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Ag/Cu-NPs coated silk (s) fabrics using a simple ‘dip and dry, technique and 3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxy silane crosslinking agent (CA). Graphene oxide (GO) and NPs were coated onto the silane treated natural silk fabrics, followed by chemical reduction and vacuum heat treatment. The fabricated fabrics showed electrical conductivity, UV-radiation protectivity, self-cleaning activity, electrothermal property, and thermal stability. RGO and Cu-NPs coated samples (S-CA-RGO-Cu) showed better performance than RGO and Ag-NPs coated samples (S-CA-RGO-Ag). Due to the low surface resistance (3.15 kΩ sq−1) S-CA-RGO-Cu, showed excellent Joule heating capacity. Both S-CA-RGO-Ag and S-CA-RGO-Cu showed ~99% inhibition of the E. coli and P. aeruginosa (Gram-negative bacteria) and ~78–99% inhibition of S. aureus (Gram-positive bacteria). HEK293 cell viability >70% indicated good biocompatibility of the fabricated samples. Moreover, the fabrics showed high washing durability by retaining their low surface resistance and good antimicrobial activity even after washing 20 times. The washing durability proves high bonding strength among silk, graphene derivatives, and NPs. The diverse durable functionalities of the fabricated fabrics have made them suitable for numerous potential applications, including personal protective equipment (PPE), protective clothing, wearable smart textiles, motion sensing, sports clothing, and the Internet of Things.

Biography

Shovon Bhattacharjee is a Scientia Ph.D. scholar in the Biosecurity Program, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Australia. His Ph.D. research focuses on developing multifunctional next-generation fabrics for PPE development (especially face masks). He is a faculty member in the Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh. His research interest is exploiting nanomaterials (graphene, nanoparticles, polymers) for public health safety.