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Smart and sustainable natural fiber‐based composites are of great interest due to their biodegradability, recyclability, and environmental benefits over synthetic fiber composites. In addition, the environmental impact of plastics and synthetic fibers are widespread and substantial, as they can stay in the environment for hundreds of years and contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. Natural fibers such as jute can potentially replace synthetic fibers to manufacture environmentally sustainable, biodegradable, and lightweight composites with improved properties, good thermal and acoustic insulation, and a smaller carbon footprint. However, natural jute fiber‐based composites suffer not only from poor mechanical properties but also being inherently electrically insulating, which limits their applications as multifunctional composites. Here multi‐functional and environmentally sustainable smart composites of graphene‐based natural jute fibers with excellent tensile and interfacial properties are reported. The reduced graphene oxide‐based natural jute fiber enhance the Young's modulus of the composites by ≈450%, and tensile strength by ≈183% after physical and chemical treatment. Such high‐performance composites can also be used as multifunctional smart composites, as demonstrated by effective electro‐magnetic interference shielding performance. This may lead to manufacturing of next generation smart, strong, and sustainable natural fiber composites for high performance engineering applications without conferring environmental problems.

Natural fibre composites are attracting significant interest due to their potential for replacing synthetic composites at lower cost with improved environmental sustainability. However, natural fibre composites suffer from poor mechanical and interfacial properties. Here we report coating of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene flakes (G) onto natural jute fibres in order to improve mechanical and interfacial properties.The coating of graphene materials onto jute fibres enhanced interfacial shear strength by ~236% and tensile strength by ~96% more than untreated fibres by forming either bonding (GO) or mechanical inter-locking (G) between fibres and graphene-based flakes.This could lead to manufacturing of high performance and environmental friendly natural fibre composites that can potentially replace synthetic composites in numerous applications such as the automotive industry, naval vessels, household products and even in the aerospace industry.

© 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Graphene-based de-icing composites are of great interest due to incredible thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of graphene. Moreover, current technologies possess a number of challenges such as expensive, high power consumption, limited life time and adding extra weight to the composites. Here, we report a scalable process of making highly conductive graphene-based glass fibre rovings for de-icing applications. We also use a scalable process of making graphene-based conductive ink by microfluidic exfoliation technique. The glass fibre roving is then coated with graphene-based conductive inks using a dip-dry-cure technique which could potentially be scaled up into an industrial manufacturing unit. The graphene-coated glass roving demonstrates lower electrical resistances (∼1.7 Ω cm-1) and can heat up rapidly to a required temperature. We integrate these graphene-coated glass rovings into a vacuum-infused epoxy-glass fabric composite and also demonstrate the potential use of as prepared graphene-based composites for de-icing applications.

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Graphene-based wearable e-textiles are considered to be promising due to their advantages over traditional metal-based technology. However, the manufacturing process is complex and currently not suitable for industrial scale application. Here we report a simple, scalable, and cost-effective method of producing graphene-based wearable e-textiles through the chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to make stable reduced graphene oxide (rGO) dispersion which can then be applied to the textile fabric using a simple pad-dry technique. This application method allows the potential manufacture of conductive graphene e-textiles at commercial production rates of ∼150 m/min. The graphene e-textile materials produced are durable and washable with acceptable softness/hand feel. The rGO coating enhanced the tensile strength of cotton fabric and also the flexibility due to the increase in strain% at maximum load. We demonstrate the potential application of these graphene e-textiles for wearable electronics with activity monitoring sensor. This could potentially lead to a multifunctional single graphene e-textile garment that can act both as sensors and flexible heating elements powered by the energy stored in graphene textile supercapacitors.

Inkjet printing of graphene inks are considered to be very promising for wearable e-textiles applications as benefits of both inkjet printing and extra-ordinary electronic, optical and mechanical properties of graphene can be exploited. However, the common problem associated with inkjet printing of conductive ink on textiles is the difficulty to print continuous conductive path on a rough and porous textiles surface. Here we report inkjet printing of an organic nanoparticles based surface pre-treat onto textiles to enable all inkjet-printed graphene e-textiles for the first time. The functionalized organic nanoparticles present a hydrophobic breathable coating on textiles. Subsequent inkjet printing of continuous conductive electrical path onto the pre-treat coating reduced the sheet resistance of graphene-based printed e-textiles by three orders of magnitude from 1.09 × 10E6 Ω/sq. to 2.14 × 10E3 Ω/sq compared with untreated textile. We present several examples how this finding opens up opportunities for real world applications of printed, low cost and environmentally friendly graphene wearable e-textiles.

Printed graphene supercapacitors have the potential to empower tomorrow’s wearable electronics. We report a solid-state flexible supercapacitor device printed on textiles using graphene oxide ink and a screen-printing technique. After printing, graphene oxide was reduced in situ via a rapid electrochemical method avoiding the use of any reducing reagents that may damage the textile substrates. The printed electrodes exhibited excellent mechanical stability due to the strong interaction between the ink and textile substrate. The unique hierarchical porous structure of the electrodes facilitated ionic diffusion and maximised the surface area available for the electrolyte/ active material interface. The obtained device showed outstanding cyclic stability over 10 000 cycles and maintained excellent mechanical flexibility, which is necessary for wearable applications. The simple printing technique is readily scalable and avoids the problems associated with fabricating supercapacitor devices made of conductive yarn, as previously reported in the literature.

The purpose of this study is to explore craft textile production in Bangladesh and the implications for its incorporation into the international supply chain. International trade brings revenue to governments in the form of foreign exchange; craft offers a comparative advantage as it potentially embodies the culture and heritage of the land of origin thereby imbuing it with uniqueness. Craft textiles which currently survive in remote village areas struggle to compete in the global market as there are no strong networks to reach international market. Internationalisation of these Bangladeshi craft textile is essential not only to keep the local heritage alive but also to secure finance of rural poor people especially women. In order to understand the contexts of the Bangladeshi textile crafts, key issues of the global supply chain such as buyers and manufacturers, networking and communication, design strategy and preservation of traditional designs, quality, price, and lead time were identified from the literature reviewed. The central notions of the research are that (i) exports of craft textiles are of significant value to developing economies such as Bangladesh, (ii) craft production is an accessible business requiring little initial investment for technology and generates revenue for local and this is especially important for women as they are a high proportion of workforce in the craft sector and (iii) the low initial investments lead to much production taking place at home raising issues of inequalities of age, gender, income and opportunities.\ud \ud \ud The research took a qualitative approach to interview members of a conceptual supply chain in Bangladesh that may play a role in developing an international market for the traditional textiles. The members were: textile craft manufacturer, a senior officer in the export department of textile craft manufacturer and retailer, a merchandising manager in a textile sourcing house in Bangladesh, a mainstream apparel buyer in UK, employee of a craft retailer in UK and a researcher, and teacher of textiles of Bangladesh.\ud \ud \ud From the research conducted, it was found that the Bangladeshi craft industry needs to focus in three major areas: Marketing and promotion of the products to international market, introduction and communication with potential buyers, and enriching market knowledge. From the interviews conducted it is appeared that other issues associated with exporting textile crafts in a position to be improved with proper planning and practical implementation. Finally a structure of an integrated supply chain was proposed, however this may have limited applicability to companies at different stages of export market development.