Reduced graphene oxide/SnO2 nanocomposite on PET surface: Synthesis, characterization and application as an electro-conductive and ultraviolet blocking textile

The present paper describes a new approach to synthesize and apply reduced graphene oxide/tin oxide (rGO/SnO2) nanocomposite as an electro-conductive and ultraviolet (UV) blocking structure on the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric through in-situ consecutive reactions. In this research, SnCl2 was used as reducing agent to reduce GO and also precursor to synthesize SnO2 nanoparticles. XRD and FTIR patterns and FESEM images showed good activities of SnCl2 to reduce GO and also synthesize SnO2 nanoparticles on the surface of rGO nanosheets. The electrical resistivity decreased from an insulator to an electro-conductive fabric (PET/rGO/SnO2 = 480 Omega cm) in low content of nanocomposite, 0.2 wt%. The ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) and transmittance values indicated an excellent ultraviolet blocking behavior after 10 washes. The UPF values increased from 33.5 for PET to 216.9 for PET/rGO/SnO2 fabric. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.