Preparation and characterization of viscose composites fiber and its enhancing effect in photothermal conversion property

Abstract Environmental concerns, such as global warming caused by fossil burning, have drawn attention from people and make it necessary to develop photothermal conversion materials that can utilize clean and renewable solar energy. In this study, a novel viscose fiber with photothermal conversion ability was prepared by adding graphene oxide (GO) to viscose solution before wet spinning process. The light‐to‐heat conversion property of modified fibers was measured by a self‐assembly structure. The results indicate that compared with pure viscose sample (ΔT = ~30.8°C), the viscose fabric with 4 wt% GO showed larger temperature rise (ΔT = ~112°C) within the same exposure time under infrared light. Moreover, it can be verified from ultraviolet‐visible‐near‐infrared spectroscopy and heat conduction property measurements that both optical absorption and thermal conductivity of GO‐viscose fibers were enhanced significantly. Additionally, scanning electron microscope, energy disperse spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and thermogravimetric were used to characterize basic features of the composite fiber. Furthermore, It was observed that the doping of low concentration of GO has little effect on fiber strength and stretchability. Consequently, the modified GO‐viscose composite is a promising photothermal conversion material for various applications involving solar energy collection and heat supply for architecture.