Graphene‐Based Fibers: Recent Advances in Preparation and Application

Abstract

investigated [17][18][19][20] for building graphene-based fibers (GBFs) over recent years. [21][22][23] These unique macroscopic 1D assemblies of microscopic 2D graphene building blocks are of lightweight, high specific surface area (SSA), and remarkable mechanical and electrical properties, thus qualifying them as ideal materials for fiber electronics. [14,[24][25][26] Currently, the well-developed wet-spinning method is widely adopted in preparing GBFs, [27,28] while newly designed spinning methods with microfluidic spinnerets and different kinds of coagulation bath have yielded GBFs with novel structures and functions. Apart from these methods, emerging techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and twisting have been developed to meet different applications of GBFs in strain sensors, stretchable SC, and multifunctional actuators. [9,29,30] Together with the evolution in their preparation, mechanical and electrical properties of GBFs have been considerably enhanced since their debut. Bioinspired strengthening and toughening strategies for membranes have been found to work for GBFs as well, and atomic doping methods have efficiently increased electrical conductivity of GBFs to a record value of 2.2 × 10 7 S m −1 , [31] which is even comparable to that of certain metals such as nickel (1.5 × 10 7 S m −1 ) and aluminum (3.5 × 10 7 S m −1 ). Based on their novel structures and significantly enhanced mechanical/electrical properties, GBFs have found their substantial uses particularly in newly designed, high-performance electrochemical devices for energy conversion and storage.Several excellent reviews have witnessed the rapid development of GBFs. [17,20,23] For example, Chou and co-workers [18] previously gave a comprehensive review on the synthesis, device performance, and potential applications of GBFs. Another review presented by Gao and his colleagues [32] focused on the microscopic mechanism during liquid crystal formation and summarized its effects on producing continuous fibers. Additionally, applications of GBFs in flexible/ wearable SCs and bioinspired nanocomposites were specifically discussed by Huang et al. [25] and Cheng and co-workers, [33] respectively. In this featured article, we mainly focus on very recent research advances in GBFs over the past few years and introduce progresses in preparation techniques, strategies for performance enhancement and novel applications (Figure 1), aiming to provide a state-of-the-art update for GBFs as well as perspectives for their future development.Graphene-based fibers (GBFs) are macroscopic 1D assemblies formed by using microscopic 2D graphene sheets as building blocks. Their unique structure exhibits the same merits as graphene such as low weight, high specific surface area, excellent mechanical/electrical properties, and ease of functionalization. Furthermore, the fibrous nature of GBFs is intrinsically compatible with existing textile technologies, making them suitable for applications in flexible and wearable electronics. Recently, novel synthetic ...

Advances in Metal Phthalocyanine based Carbon Composites for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

“…[92] Graphene is arguably the thinnest and lightest material in the world, and its tightly packed conjugated hexagonal lattice structure makes it have excellent physical and chemical properties. [93][94][95][96][97][98] For example: extremely large specific surface area, high mechanical strength, 200 times higher than steel, and a tensile modulus (stiffness) at 1 TPA (150, 000, 000 psi). It has excellent thermal conductivity and its thermal conductivity is up to 5300 W/m•K.…”

Partial Reversibility of the Cytotoxic Effect Induced by Graphene-Based Materials in Skin Keratinocytes

“…In fact, skin contact is one of the most relevant exposure routes to these materials, considering both an occupational scenario and specific ones related to skin applications of GBMs [ 8 , 9 ]. The latter consists of GBM-enriched devices used as biosensors, wearable soft bioelectronics and novel touchscreens, but can be represented also by GBM-enriched novel textiles, seat coatings and even new-generation condoms, among others [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. In this regard, we already characterized the in vitro toxic effects induced by short (24 h) and long (72 h) exposures to GBMs on skin HaCaT keratinocytes, a spontaneously immortalized non-tumor cell line that, resembling the functional properties of undifferentiated keratinocytes, is widely used as a screening tool to assess the mechanism of cutaneous toxicity [ 23 ].…”

All-Carbon Conductors for Electronic and Electrical Wiring Applications

“…Wideangle X-ray scattering (WAXS) technique can be informative about the structure and orientation degree along the fiber axis (Xu et al, 2012(Xu et al, , 2016Alemán et al, 2015). Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed by Xu et al (2012Xu et al ( , 2019 to investigate the size and shape confinements in the fiber of the carbon building blocks and optimize the fluid dynamics in the wet-spinning of the graphene fiber fabrication (2D SAXS configuration). Lamellar structural information is of particular interest when GO or liquid crystals are used in presence of nematic, lamellar and chiral compounds (Kumar et al, 2017;Clancy et al, 2018;Fang et al, 2020).…”

“…On the other hand, metals are present in nature with limited amounts and the need for an advantageous alternative solution would be of great relevance. Under these perspectives, it is important to remark that many reviews concerning the main topic of the carbon-based materials and properties are present and that a certain number of them (Chou et al, 2010;Lu et al, 2012;Cong et al, 2014;Lekawa-Raus et al, 2014b;Li and Pandey, 2015;Xu and Gao, 2015;Kou et al, 2017;Yadav et al, 2017;Xu et al, 2019;Zheng et al, 2020) should be nevertheless deemed of a great significance. Along with recent findings, Zheng et al (2020) have recently demonstrated the ultrafast electro-thermal response (5943 K s −1 ) of graphene fibers surpassing the record value of carbon nanotubes.…”