Conversion of agricultural waste into green-white graphene hybrids for high-performance textiles

Resumo

Transforming agricultural waste into functional nanomaterials offers a sustainable and value-added approach for developing next-generation high-performance textiles. Here, aminated green graphene (AGG), derived from agricultural biochar, is integrated with hydroxylated hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN–OH, “white graphene”) to engineer a dual hybrid coating on cotton fabrics (CFs). The synergistic AGG–h-BN–OH architecture forms a robust interfacial network through hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, and π–π interactions, imparting outstanding multifunctionality. The optimized CF/4AGG–h-BN–OH exhibits exceptional mechanical strength (24.5 MPa, ~171% improvement) and toughness (2.91 MJ m−3, 246% improvement), along with hydrophobicity (water contact angle = 129°), superior thermal stability (28 wt% char residue at 700 °C), prolonged heat transfer time (32 s vs. 10 s for pristine CF), significantly improved LOI% (30.2 vs. 19.1 for CF) and reduced char length (2.4 cm vs. full length for pristine CF). The fabric also offers significant antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and promising water-immersion stability. Mach–Zehnder interferometric analyses reflect excellent thermal-shielding efficiency, while molecular dynamics simulations indicate that dual coating of cellulose with AGG and h-BN–OH enhances structural stability at the atomistic scale through synergistic physical shielding and reduced molecular mobility, consistent with delayed structural disruption and a lower propensity for volatile species formation. Collectively, this halogen-free, bio-derived hybrid technique valorises agricultural wastes into advanced graphene-based coatings, pioneering a scalable approach toward the development of high-performance, flame-retardant, and antibacterial cotton fabrics for applications in healthcare, protective clothing, and aerospace textiles.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, 2026 · Fator de impacto 12,5.

DOI 10.1016/j.cej.2026.176668