Have you ever thought that in the cold world of ice and snow, there is a kind of clothing that is both warm and light? Recently, the 9th Asian Winter Games is being held in Harbin, and the graphene heating New Year dolls designed with the mascots “Binbin” and “Nini” as prototypes have appeared. Not only that, the inner layer of the clothing of torchbearers and volunteers is also made of graphene materials.
Graphene, a “super material” that has attracted much attention in the field of scientific research, has actually entered the textile industry for many years. What is the magic of graphene? Hao Yufeng, a professor at the School of Modern Engineering and Applied Sciences of Nanjing University, takes us to explore the road of graphene into warm clothing.
What kind of material is graphene?
Hao Yufeng introduced that graphene is a thin film material composed of carbon atoms and only a single atomic layer thick. In 2004, two scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK successfully stripped a single atomic layer of graphene from graphite for the first time. It can be said that in the scope of single atomic layers, it is currently the strongest, thinnest, and most conductive thin film material.
How does graphene fabric achieve a warming effect?
So how does graphene achieve a warming effect when used in clothing? In this regard, Professor Hao Yufeng gave an explanation that graphene fabrics achieve a warming effect mainly through two methods.
The first is reflection, because graphene itself has good reflective properties in near-infrared and mid-infrared. The human body is constantly dissipating heat, and this heat dissipation process is essentially emitting energy in the form of infrared radiation. Based on this principle, when wearing clothes made of graphene film or containing a certain proportion of graphene film, part of the infrared energy emitted by the body will be reflected back by the graphene film. The body’s heat loss is reduced, and the warming effect is revealed.
The second method is relatively traditional, because graphene itself has resistance, and it will generate heat after power is turned on. Therefore, some of the more mature products, such as graphene belts and graphene knee pads, often use a battery device to energize graphene to generate heat. This mechanism is similar to traditional electric blankets, but graphene products are lighter and more convenient.
What is the cost and difficulty of preparing graphene clothing?
Hao Yufeng introduced that because graphite itself is a layered material and the interaction between layers is very weak, the early method of preparing graphene is to take a graphite crystal and use the method of tearing tape to obtain graphene. In the process of peeling, the single-layer graphite of a few microns or tens of microns in size is the graphene film.
Graphene can also be prepared by chemical methods. Put the graphite in a solution of potassium permanganate and concentrated sulfuric acid, expand the natural graphite through this strong oxidant, and then add some reducing agents to neutralize the oxygen-carrying functional groups on the surface of graphene oxide, and what remains is graphene.
The third preparation method is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The graphene prepared by this method is of very high quality and can also be used in clothing. However, the cost of this method is relatively high, and the graphene prepared is single-layer, two-layer or three-layer, and the mechanical strength is relatively weak.
Professor Hao Yufeng concluded that the most direct method for preparing graphene is mechanical exfoliation, so that the graphene decomposed from natural graphite is of very high quality, but the yield is very low. Relatively speaking, the graphene prepared by chemical methods has a high yield and a relatively mature process, but because it has experienced a strong oxidation and strong reduction environment during the preparation process, it is easy to have defects on the surface and the quality is relatively low. However, due to the demand for mass production, graphene prepared by chemical methods will still be selected in industrial applications.
What is the prospect of graphene fabrics in the clothing industry?
Graphene has been in the clothing industry for nearly ten years.
Hao Yufeng said that graphene itself has many advantages, and many companies are trying to develop new application scenarios for graphene. Compared with the time cost and economic cost of making graphene into chips, it is relatively easier to apply graphene to clothing.
Nowadays, we can see graphene clothing products in both physical stores and some e-commerce platforms. Huaian Goodlife Textile which also has rich experience in the custom poncho towel,waterproof changing robe, sport towel, and some outdoor clothing, also follow the market trend. The factory is also on the way to apply the graphene into the clothing according to customer demand. If you are interested in this, welcome consult any time
Post time: Mar-04-2025