Naturally Dried Graphene-Based Nanocomposite Aerogels with Exceptional Elasticity and High Electrical Conductivity

Materials combining high porosity, mechanical durability, and multifunctionality have drawn significant research interest because of their potential in engineering applications. Herein, the porous air-dried nanocomposite aerogels containing reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and chitosan (CS) are fabricated by self-assembling an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide and chitosan with the addition of hydroiodic acid (HI) followed by recasting the hybrid hydrogel with an ice-template method. The strong cross-linked composite aerogels obtained have reversible compressibility, exceptional elasticity, and high electrical conductivity, which are derived from the restacking inhibition and steric hindrance of the polymer chains. What's more, the successive soaking-drying experiments indicate that the as-prepared graphene-based aerogels exhibit excellent environmental stability and reuseability. The regenerated electrical conductivity remains almost the same and more than 90% of its maximum compressive stress at a strain of up to 92% is retained after five cycles. This makes them ideal candidates for potential applications in areas of supercapacitors and energy storage.