Immobilizing reduced graphene oxide on polydopamine-templated PET fabrics for UV protection, electrical conduction and application as wearable sensors.

Despite the strong application potential of graphene in various areas, incorporation of graphene into fibrous system for durable, flexible and reliable wearable applications is still of challenge. We hereby propose the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on PET fabrics through polydopamine (PDA) templating. Dopamine was self-polymerized on PET fabrics to for a PDA layer as a secondary platform for loading graphene oxide (GO) via vacuum filtration, and the as-prepared PET/PDA/GO was immediately reduced to PET/PDA/rGO by hot-pressing. The surface morphology, structure and properties were investigated with the mechanism proposed. The UV protective property and electrical conductivity of the prepared PET/PDA/rGO together with the durability against washing and bending and twisting were studied, and the application of the coated fabrics as wearable sensor was demonstrated. • Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on PET fabrics was achieved through polydopamine templating. • The coating was completed via vacuum filtration followed by hot-pressing reduction. • PET/PDA/rGO showed excellent UV protective property and electrical conductivity. • The PET/PDA/rGO showed durability against washing, bending and twisting. • The application of the coated fabrics as wearable sensor was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]