Here, we report a new method to prepare graphene from graphite by the liquid phase exfoliation process with sonication using graphene oxide (GO) as a dispersant. It was found that GO nanosheets act a as surfactant to the mediated exfoliation of graphite into a GO-adsorbed graphene complex in the aqueous solution, from which graphene was separated by an additional process. The preparation of isolated graphene from a single to a few layers is routinely achieved with an exfoliation yield of up to higher than 40% from the initial graphite material. The prepared graphene sheets showed a high quality (C/O ∼ 21.5), low defect (ID/IG ∼ 0.12), and high conductivity (6.2 × 10(4) S/m). Moreover, the large lateral size ranging from 5 to 10 μm of graphene, which is believed to be due to the shielding effect of GO avoiding damage under ultrasonic jets and cavitation formed by the sonication process. The thin graphene film prepared by the spray-coating technique showed a sheet resistance of 668 Ω/sq with a transmittance of 80% at 550 nm after annealing at 350 °C for 3 h. The transparent electrode was even greater with the resistance only 66.02 Ω when graphene is deposited on an interdigitated electrode (1 mm gap). Finally, a flexible sensor based on a graphene spray-coating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is demonstrated showing excellent performance working under human touch pressure (<10 kPa). The graphene prepared by this method has some distinct properties showing it as a promising material for applications in electronics including thin film coatings, transparent electrodes, wearable electronics, human monitoring sensors, and RFID tags.

Adhesion behavior of superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces is an active research field related to various engineering applications in controlled microdroplet transportation, self-cleaning, deicing, biochemical separation, tissue engineering, and water harvesting. Herein, we report a facile approach to control droplet adhesion, bouncing and rolling on properties of SH surfaces by tuning their air-gap and roughness-height by altering the concentrations of poly dimethyl-siloxane (PDMS). The optimal use of PDMS (4-16 wt %) in a dual-scale (nano- and microparticles) composite enables control of the specific surface area (SSA), pore volume, and roughness of matrices that result in a well-controlled adhesion between water droplets and SH surfaces. The sliding angles of these surfaces were tuned to be varied between 2 ± 1 and 87 ± 2°, which are attributed to the transformation of the contact type between droplet and surface from "point contact" to "area contact". We further explored the effectiveness of these low and high adhesive SH surfaces in icing and deicing actions, which provides a new insight into design highly efficient and low-cost ice-release surface for cold temperature applications. Low adhesion (lotus effect) surface with higher pore-volume exhibited relatively excellent ice-release properties with significant icing delay ability principally attributed to the large air gap in the coating matrix than SH matrix with high adhesion (petal effect).

Wearable electronic textiles are used in sensors, energyharvesting devices, healthcare monitoring, human−machine interfaces, and soft robotics to acquire real-time big data for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Wearability is essential while collecting data from a human, who should be able to wear the device with sufficient comfort. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) were supersonically sprayed onto a fabric to ensure good adhesiveness, resulting in a washable, stretchable, and wearable fabric without affecting the performance of the designed features. This rGO/AgNW-decorated fabric can be used to monitor external stimuli such as strain and temperature. In addition, it is used as a heater and as a supercapacitor and features an antibacterial hydrophobic surface that minimizes potential infection from external airborne viruses or virus-containing droplets. Herein, the wearability, stretchability, washability, mechanical durability, temperature-sensing capability, heating ability, wettability, and antibacterial features of this metallized fabric are explored. This multifunctionality is achieved in a single fabric coated with rGO/AgNWs via supersonic spraying.

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One-dimensional (1D) silver nanowires (AgNWs) have emerged as a leading candidate for the development of next-generation optoelectronic and wearable electronic devices. However, a key limitation of AgNW electrodes is that they are readily oxidized, resulting in a shift in properties leading to devices becoming erratic over time. To address this problem, we report a facile method to improve both the stability and performance of AgNW films. The AgNWs were combined with pristine graphene (pG) using an optimal (30/70 wt %) with the goals to prove that the pG sheets can provide a barrier shielding to protect against AgNW oxidation and have the additional benefit of improving the connections between wires and stability of the films. The fabrication of these films was demonstrated on wide range of substrates including glass, plastic, textile, and paper. A surface resistance of 18.23 Ω/sq and an optical transparency of 89% were obtained on the glass substrates, 50 Ω/sq and 88% transparency for poly­(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and 0.35 Ω/sq resistance on the textile substrate. Atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ) treatment was further used to enhance the performance of the film (i.e., glass), resulting in a significant reduction of 30.6% in sheet resistance (15.20 Ω/sq) and an improvement of transparency to 91%. The stability of AgNW/pG film under environmental conditions and higher temperatures was significantly improved, showing only a minor increase in the sheet resistance after 30 days and at temperature increases up to 300 °C when compared with control (AgNW film) which shows a sharp increase after 8–10 days and is thermally stable until 150 °C as a result of Ag oxidation.

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