A flexible conductive cotton fabric was demonstrated by formulation and deposition of a graphene oxide (GO) dispersion onto a cotton fabric by vacuum filtration. The final deposited GO amount was controlled by the concentration and volume of the GO dispersion. The GO was reduced by a hot press method at 180 ºC for 60 mins, and no chemical reductant was needed in both the deposition and reduction processes. The carbon-oxygen ratio increased from 1.77 to 3.72 after the hot press reduction. The asprepared flexible conductive cotton fabric showed a sheet resistance as low as 0.9 kΩ/sq. The sheet resistance of the conductive cotton fabric only increased from ~ 0.9 kΩ/sq to ~ 1.2 kΩ/sq after 10 washing cycles, exhibiting good washability. The conductive cotton fabric showed viability as a strain sensor even after 400 bending cycles, in which the stable change in the electrical resistance went from ~ 3500 kΩ under tensile strain to ~ 10 kΩ under compressive strain. This cost-effective and environmentally-friendly method can be easily extended to scalable production of reduced GO based flexible conductive cotton fabrics.

Durable, reversible color changing polyester fabrics were successfully fabricated using thermochromic leuco dye-loaded silica nanocapsules via dyeing.

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A photoresponsive surfactant of 4-octoxy-4'-[(trimethylamino)ethoxy]azobenzene (OTAEAzo) has been synthesized for developing a fast-phototuning foam switch based on its high sensitivity, reversibility, and fatigue resistance of the photoisomerization capability. Ultraviolet (UV)-light irradiation for 1 s enabled conversion from the trans isomer to the cis configuration, while exposure to visible (Vis)-light for 3 min induced a cis-to-trans transformation, which maintains an excellent cycling stability for 20 cycles of photoisomerization. The photoisomerization speed depended on the concentration of OTAEAzo, and a lower concentration facilitated a faster photoisomerization process. Because of the low critical micelle concentration (CMC), OTAEAzo with a small dosage of 0.2 g·L showed foamability, which accelerated the photoisomerization speed, enabling it to become a highly efficient switch. The surface activities of trans-OTAEAzo presented distinct differences from those of cis-OTAEAzo, resulting in the foam stabilization effects of trans-OTAEAzo (t = 2.58 min) and the destabilization effects of cis-OTAEAzo (t = 0.38 min). Moreover, the foam properties varied slightly in the phototuning cycles. OTAEAzo with low CMC presents high sensitivity and reversible photoisomerization capability, providing an environmental and sustainable approach for tailoring the foam stability.

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