Conductive, self-cleaning, and short-circuit proof multi-functional graphene aerogel composite fibers

This work reports the superior properties of flexible multi-functional composite fibers based on graphene aerogel fibers. With the addition of phase change materials, the graphene aerogel fibers were synthesized by wet spinning and supercritical drying. The phase change materials can improve the structural uniformity and thermal stability of the composite fibers. The fibers coated with polydimethylsiloxane and fluorocarbon can respond to various external stimuli (e.g., electrons, photons, and heat), as well as have excellent properties of shape compliance, self-cleaning, and insulated surfaces. After coating fluorocarbon, the maximum water contact angle of graphene aerogel fibers increases from 132.18° to 151.77°. It is worth mentioning that adding an insulation layer of polydimethylsiloxane avoids the high-temperature problem caused by the short circuit of graphene aerogel fibers. The short-circuit temperature of graphene aerogel fibers is as high as 65 °C, while that of the composite fiber is only 41.5 °C after coating with polydimethylsiloxane. The temperature of graphene aerogel fibers with polyethylene glycol can increase to 39.3 °C under simulated sunlight. In addition, graphene aerogel fibers have excellent electrical conductivity (4.85 × 10 3 S m −1 ) at 300 K. After coating with polyethylene glycol, its electrical conductivity is still as high as 2.95 × 10 3 S m −1 . The good electrical conductivity makes the aerogel fibers have promising application in advanced wearable systems.