Preparation of flexible graphene@SnO2 composite fiber via in situ chemical reduction and self-assembly method

ABSTRACTA facile in-situ chemical reduction and self-assembly method was developed to prepare graphene and tin oxide (graphene@SnO2) composite fibers. The obtained graphene@SnO2 fiber exhibits excellent tensile mechanical performance with high mechanical strength and superior plastic deformation (mechanical strength up to 65 MPa with an ultimate elongation about 7%). The electrical resistance of the graphene@SnO2 fiber holds steady and has a negligible change in either the bent or straight status over 100 cycles. In the prepared composite fibers, SnO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 3–5 nm homogeneously dispersed on the graphene sheets. The conductivity of GF@SnO2 was about 6.0–2.5 S/cm with the increase content of Sn4+ due to the tin oxide semiconductor doping.