Scalable Production of Graphene-Based Wearable E-Textiles

Graphene-based wearable e-textiles are considered to be promising due to their advantages over traditional metal-based technology. However the manufacturing process is complex and currently not suitable for industrial scale application. Here we report a simple, scalable and cost-effective method of producing graphene-based wearable e-textiles through the chemical reduction GO to make stable rGO dispersions which can then be applied to the textile fabric using a simple pad-dry technique. This application method allows the potential manufacture of conductive graphene e-textiles at commercial production rates of ~150 m/min. The graphene e-textile materials produced are durable and washable with acceptable softness/hand feel. The rGO coating enhanced the tensile strength of cotton fabric by ~60% and also the flexibility due to the increase in strain% at maximum load. We demonstrate the potential application of these graphene e-textiles for wearable textiles with activity monitoring sensors. This could potentially lead to a multifunctional single graphene e-textiles garment that can act both as sensors and flexible heating elements powered by the energy stored in graphene textile supercapacitors.