Non-aqueous conductive finishing of silk fabrics with graphene oxide

Endowing silk fabrics with electrical conductivity while maintaining their inherent comfort is a critical challenge in the development of flexible wearable electronics. This study presents a novel, resource-efficient conductive finishing technique using graphene oxide (GO) in a nonaqueous decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) medium. By exploiting the extreme hydrophobicity of D5 and the hydrophilic nature of GO, a suspension-extraction system was established to facilitate the unidirectional migration of GO nanosheets onto the silk surface. The study reveals that the D5 medium significantly regulates solute distribution behavior, inducing a pronounced unidirectional migration tendency of GO within the D5-water-fibre three-phase system. This enables high adsorption capacity and conductivity under minimal water conditions. Compared to traditional water bath methods, this process reduces GO consumption by 50% (achieving the conductivity equivalent of 5.0 g/L GO in a water bath with only 2.5 g/L GO in the D5 system, lowering surface resistance to 6.61 kΩ/cm). Moreover, the treated fabric surface forms a thicker, continuous reduced GO conductive layer with fewer crystal structure defects. This methodology provides a sustainable and high-performance pathway for the functionalization of natural protein fibers in the smart textile industry.