Multifunctional sodium alginate fabric based on reduced graphene oxide and polypyrrole for wearable closed-loop point-of-care application

Abstract

Sodium alginate (SA) fabrics decorated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and polypyrrole (PPy) serving as multifunctional materials are prepared by thermal-press reduction and in-situ polymerization. The superior conductivity (0.17 kΩ·sq⁻¹) of SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric is optimized through L₉(3⁴) orthogonal experimental design. Microstructures of the resultant SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric are investigated by field emission -scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurement, respectively. It is found that SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric possesses not only excellent thermal stability but also mechanical durability. The results of NH3 gas experiments indicate that SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric exhibits reliable linearity of concentration (2–16 ppm) dependency, unique repeatability, a high sensing response (10.7%) at low detection limit of 2 ppm and admirable selectivity. Moreover, SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric acting as a heater can reach to approximately 40–90 ℃ at low voltage of 3 V to 9 V. Hence, the optimum SA/rGO/PPy composite fabric is supposed to be used as ultrasensitive NH3 gas sensor and wearable heater for nephropathy diagnosis purpose and thermo-responsive drug deliver in point-of-care (POC) application to develop a closed-loop treatment.

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