High-response room-temperature NO2 gas sensor fabricated with thermally reduced graphene oxide-coated commercial cotton fabric.

Electronic textile-based gas sensors with a high response for NO2 gas were fabricated using reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-coated commercial cotton fabric (rGOC). Graphene oxide (GO) was coated on cotton fabric by simply dipping the cotton into a GO solution. To investigate the relationship between the degree of reduction and the sensing response, the GO-coated fabrics were thermally reduced at various temperatures (190, 200, 300, and 400 °C). The change in the amount of oxygen functional groups on the rGOCs was observed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction patterns. The maximum sensing response of 45.90 % at 10 ppm of NO2 gas at room temperature was exhibited by the rGOC treated at 190 °C, which was the lowest heat-treatment temperature. The high response comes from the greater amount of oxygen functional groups compared to other rGOC samples, and the tubular structure of the cotton.

Palladium nanoparticle-decorated multi-layer Ti3C2T x dual-functioning as a highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor and hydrogen storage.

In this work, palladium nanoparticle (PdNP)-decorated Ti3C2T x MXene (Pd-Ti3C2T x ) was synthesized by a simple two-step process. For this, multilayer Ti3C2T x MXene (ML-Ti3C2T x ) was first prepared by a selective HF etching technique, and PdNPs were directly grown on the surface of ML-Ti3C2T x flakes using a polyol method. The relative weight fraction of PdNPs to ML-Ti3C2T x was elaborately controlled to derive the optimal size and distribution of PdNPs, thereby to maximize its performance as a hydrogen sensor. The optimized Pd-Ti3C2T x nanocomposite showed superb hydrogen-sensing capability even at room temperature with sharp, large, reproducible, concentration-dependent, and hydrogen-selective responses. Furthermore, the nanocomposite also unveiled some extent of hydrogen storage capability at room temperature and 77 K, raising a possibility that it can dual-function as a hydrogen sensor and hydrogen storage.

Recyclable aqueous metal adsorbent: Synthesis and Cu(II) sorption characteristics of ternary nanocomposites of Fe3O4 nanoparticles@graphene-poly-N-phenylglycine nanofibers.

Metal pollutant adsorbents are an essential material platform for sustainable environmental remediation, but the adsorbents are typically disposable after sorption, which secondarily contaminates the environment. We report on recyclable Cu(II) adsorbent of deprotonated poly-N-phenylglycine nanofibers (d-PPG NFs)-grafted reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets intercalated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), which are synthesized via wet chemical process. The adsorption performances of ternary Fe3O4 NPs@rGO-d-PPG NFs and binary Fe3O4 NPs@rGO composites are compared, and the ternary ones exhibit much higher Cu2+-adsorption capacity than binary ones under diverse pH conditions due to both high specific surface area and high cationic affinity of d-PPG NFs that follow the Freundlich adsorption model. Density-functional theory calculation results explain why/how the ternary composites show greater Cu2+ adsorption capability in higher pH environment. The ternary composites present stable, high Cu2+ adsorption capability, irrespective of Co2+ concentration in bimetallic Cu and Co aqueous solution. The Fe3O4 NPs in the ternary composites allow magnet-assisted collection after adsorption batches, whose collection yield is ∼95 % without adsorption capacity degradation in repeated adsorbent reuses over 10 times. This study provides a general, promising pathway to synthesize reusable sorptive materials for water purification/remediation.

Influence of hydrogen incorporation on conductivity and work function of VO2 nanowires.

We report improved conductance by reducing the work function via incorporation of hydrogen into VO2 nanowires. The VO2 nanowires were prepared using the chemical vapor deposition method with V2O5 powder on silicon substrates at 850 °C. Hydrogenation was carried out using the high-pressure hydrogenation method. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the incorporated hydrogen atoms resulted in a change in the lattice constant of the VO2 nanowires (NWs). To quantitatively measure the work function of the nanowires, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was employed at ambient conditions. We found that the work function decreased with increasing H2 pressure, which also resulted in increased conductance. This is associated with hydrogen diffused into the VO2 that acts as a donor to elevate the Fermi level, which was also confirmed by KPFM. From these results, tuning of the reversible electrical properties of VO2 NWs, including the conductance and work function, can be achieved by incorporating hydrogen at relatively moderate temperatures.

Visible-light-driven dynamic cancer therapy and imaging using graphitic carbon nitride nanoparticles.

Organic graphitic carbon nitride nanoparticles (NP-g-CN), less than 30 nm in size, were synthesized and evaluated for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and cell imaging applications. NP-g-CN particles were prepared through an intercalation process using a rod-like melamine-cyanuric acid adduct (MCA) as the molecular precursor and a eutectic mixture of LiCl-KCl (45:55 wt%) as the reaction medium for polycondensation. The nano-dimensional NP-g-CN penetrated the malignant tumor cells with minimal hindrance and effectively generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) under visible light irradiation, which could ablate cancer cells. When excited by visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), NP-g-CN introduced to HeLa and cos-7 cells generated a significant amount of ROS and killed the cancerous cells selectively. The cytotoxicity of NP-g-CN was manipulated by altering the light irradiation and the BP-g-CN caused more damage to the cancer cells than normal cells at low concentrations. As a potential non-toxic organic nanomaterial, the synthesized NP-g-CN are biocompatible with less cytotoxicity than toxic inorganic materials. The combined effects of the high efficacy of ROS generation under visible light irradiation, low toxicity, and bio-compatibility highlight the potential of NP-g-CN for PDT and imaging without further modification.

Pyridinic-N-Doped Graphene Paper from Perforated Graphene Oxide for Efficient Oxygen Reduction.

We report a simple approach to fabricate a pyridinic-N-doped graphene film (N-pGF) without high-temperature heat treatment from perforated graphene oxide (pGO). pGO is produced by a short etching treatment with hydrogen peroxide. GO perforation predominated in a short etching time (∼1 h), inducing larger holes and defects compared to pristine GO. The pGO is advantageous to the formation of a pyridinic N-doped graphene because of strong NH3 adsorption on vacancies with oxygen functional groups during the nitrogen-doping process, and the pyridinic-N-doped graphene exhibits good electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Using rotating-disk electrode measurements, we confirm that N-pGF undergoes a four-electron-transfer process during the ORR in alkaline and acidic media by possessing sufficient diffusion pathways and readily available ORR active sites for efficient mass transport. A comparison between Pt/N-pGF and commercial Pt/C shows that Pt/N-pGF has superior performance, based on its more positive onset potential and higher limiting diffusion current at -0.5 V.

Highly stretchable, mechanically stable, and weavable reduced graphene oxide yarn with high NO2 sensitivity for wearable gas sensors.

Stretchable gas sensors are important components of wearable electronic devices used for human safety and healthcare applications. However, the current low stretchability and poor stability of the materials limit their use. Here, we report a highly stretchable, stable, and sensitive NO2 gas sensor composed of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets and highly elastic commercial yarns. To achieve high stretchability and good stability, the RGO sensors were fabricated using a pre-strain strategy (strain-release assembly). The fabricated stretchable RGO gas sensors showed high NO2 sensitivity (55% at 5.0 ppm) under 200% strain and outstanding mechanical stability (even up to 5000 cycles at 400% applied strain), making them ideal for wearable electronic applications. In addition, our elastic graphene gas sensors can also be woven into fabrics and clothes for the creation of smart textiles. Finally, we successfully fabricated wearable gas-sensing wrist-bands from superelastic graphene yarns and stretchable knits to demonstrate a wearable electronic device.

Highly conductive and environmentally stable gold/graphene yarns for flexible and wearable electronics.

Here, we fabricated high-performance gold/graphene yarns through a facile method by the electroless deposition of gold nanoparticles onto the surface of graphene yarns. The gold/graphene yarns are fabricated using a completely solution-based process that can be scaled up for practical applications. They possess high electrical conductivity (2.86 × 102 S cm-1) and good gravimetric specific conductivity (6.81 × 102 S cm2 g-1) as well as good reliability under 1000 bending tests with a maximum bending angle of 170° and 10 washing tests with laundry detergents. These stable conducting yarns could also be integrated into textiles and clothes in various forms to create smart fabrics and wearable devices. In addition, this facile approach is easily applicable to various graphene films and devices on soft substrates that are presently used in flexible/wearable electronics.

Pyroprotein-Based Electronic Textiles with High Stability.

Thermally reducible pyroprotein-based electronic textiles (e-textiles) are fabricated using graphene oxide and a pyroprotein such as cocoon silk and spider web without any chemical agents. The electrical conductivity of the e-textile is 11.63 S cm-1 , which is maintained even in bending, washing, and temperature variation.

Nanohole-Structured and Palladium-Embedded 3D Porous Graphene for Ultrahigh Hydrogen Storage and CO Oxidation Multifunctionalities.

Atomic-scale defects on carbon nanostructures have been considered as detrimental factors and critical problems to be eliminated in order to fully utilize their intrinsic material properties such as ultrahigh mechanical stiffness and electrical conductivity. However, defects that can be intentionally controlled through chemical and physical treatments are reasonably expected to bring benefits in various practical engineering applications such as desalination thin membranes, photochemical catalysts, and energy storage materials. Herein, we report a defect-engineered self-assembly procedure to produce a three-dimensionally nanohole-structured and palladium-embedded porous graphene hetero-nanostructure having ultrahigh hydrogen storage and CO oxidation multifunctionalities. Under multistep microwave reactions, agglomerated palladium nanoparticles having diameters of ∼10 nm produce physical nanoholes in the basal-plane structure of graphene sheets, while much smaller palladium nanoparticles are readily impregnated inside graphene layers and bonded on graphene surfaces. The present results show that the defect-engineered hetero-nanostructure has a ∼5.4 wt % hydrogen storage capacity under 7.5 MPa and CO oxidation catalytic activity at 190 °C. The defect-laden graphene can be highly functionalized for multipurpose applications such as molecule absorption, electrochemical energy storage, and catalytic activity, resulting in a pathway to nanoengineering based on underlying atomic scale and physical defects.

Ultrasensitive and highly selective graphene-based single yarn for use in wearable gas sensor.

Electric components based on fibers or textiles have been investigated owing to their potential applications in wearable devices. High performance on response to gas, drape-ability and washing durability are of important for gas sensors based on fiber substrates. In this report, we demonstrate the bendable and washable electronic textile (e-textile) gas sensors composed of reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) using commercially available yarn and molecular glue through an electrostatic self-assembly. The e-textile gas sensor possesses chemical durability to several detergent washing treatments and mechanical stability under 1,000 bending tests at an extreme bending radius of 1 mm as well as a high response to NO2 gas at room temperature with selectivity to other gases such as acetone, ethanol, ethylene, and CO2.

One-step hydrothermal synthesis of graphene decorated V2O5 nanobelts for enhanced electrochemical energy storage.

Graphene-decorated V2O5 nanobelts (GVNBs) were synthesized via a low-temperature hydrothermal method in a single step. V2O5 nanobelts (VNBs) were formed in the presence of graphene oxide, a mild oxidant, which also enhanced the conductivity of GVNBs. From the electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis, the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are inserted into the layered crystal structure of V2O5 nanobelts, which further confirmed the enhanced conductivity of the nanobelts. The electrochemical energy-storage capacity of GVNBs was investigated for supercapacitor applications. The specific capacitance of GVNBs was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge/discharge (CD) studies. The GVNBs having V2O5-rich composite, namely, V3G1 (VO/GO = 3:1), showed superior specific capacitance in comparison to the other composites (V1G1 and V1G3) and the pure materials. Moreover, the V3G1 composite showed excellent cyclic stability and the capacitance retention of about 82% was observed even after 5000 cycles.

Graphene oxide assisted spontaneous growth of V2O5 nanowires at room temperature.

Graphene-decorated single crystalline V2O5 nanowires (G-VONs) have been synthesized by mixing graphene oxide (GO) and V2O5 suspensions at room temperature. In this process, V2O5 nanowires (VONs) are formed spontaneously from commercial V2O5 particles with the aid of GO. The as-formed one dimensional G-VONs were characterized by using a X-ray diffractometer, a X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope, and a transmission electron microscope. GO plays a vital role in the VON formation with the simultaneous reduction of GO. A single G-VON showed superior electrical conductivity compared with that of the pure VONs obtained from the sol-gel method. This could be ascribed to the insertion of rGO sheets into the V2O5 layered structure, which was further confirmed by electron energy loss spectroscopy.

A 3D scaffold for ultra-sensitive reduced graphene oxide gas sensors.

An ultra-sensitive gas sensor based on a reduced graphene oxide nanofiber mat was successfully fabricated using a combination of an electrospinning method and graphene oxide wrapping through an electrostatic self-assembly, followed by a low-temperature chemical reduction. The sensor showed excellent sensitivity to NO2 gas.

A novel method for applying reduced graphene oxide directly to electronic textiles from yarns to fabrics.

Conductive, flexible, and durable reduced RGO textiles with a facile preparation method are presented. BSA proteins serve as universal adhesives for improving the adsorption of GO onto any textile, irrespective of the materials and the surface conditions. Using this method, we successfully prepared various RGO textiles based on nylon-6 yarns, cotton yarns, polyester yarns, and nonwoven fabrics.

Production of large-scale, freestanding vanadium pentoxide nanobelt porous structures.

Large-scale, freestanding, porous structures of vanadium pentoxide nanobelts (VPNs) were successfully prepared using the template-free freeze-drying method. The porous and multi-layered VPN macrostructures are composed of randomly oriented long nanobelts (over 100 µm) and their side length can be controlled up to a few tens of centimetres. Also, the bulk density and surface area of these macrostructures are 3-5 mg cm(-3) and 40-80 m(2) g(-1), respectively, which are similar to those of the excellent adsorbents. In addition, the removal efficiency measurements of ammonia molecules revealed that the VPN porous structures can adsorb the ammonia molecules with the combinations of van der Waals forces and strong chemical bonding by functional groups on the VPN surface.

Thermally modulated multilayered graphene oxide for hydrogen storage.

We have obtained high pressure H(2) isotherms with respect to the interlayer distance of multilayered graphene oxide (GO) modulated by thermal annealing. The maximum storage capacity is 4.8 (0.5) wt% at 77 K (298 K) and at 9.0 MPa pressure. We found the optimum GO interlayer distance for maximum H(2) uptake at 6.5 Å, similar to the predicted distances from first-principles calculations for graphite materials. Our results reveal that multilayered GO can be a practical material of choice to allow the use of graphene as a hydrogen storage material, provided that only small amounts of O and OH functional groups exist as spacers on GO sheets.

Electrical quadruple hysteresis in Pd-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires due to water adsorption.

Humidity-dependent current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Pd-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires (Pd-VONs) were investigated. Electrical quadruple hysteresis (QH) was observed and attributed to the large amount of water molecules adsorbed on the nanowires. Using QH in Pd-VONs, the reaction of water with PdO was interpreted as the water molecules are desorbed and then dissociated with increasing bias voltage. Owing to the dissociated H+ and OH- ions, PdO is reduced and oxidized. As a result, water molecules recombine as the bias voltage is decreased.