Enhancement of mechanical properties of graphene oxide fibers via liquid crystalline phase formation and flake size optimization

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) fibers are promising materials for lightweight, high-strength applications due to their unique structural tunability and mechanical performance. However, the properties of GO fibers strongly depend on the ordering of GO flakes during the assembly process. In this work, we demonstrate that GO fibers spun from a liquid crystalline (LC) GO dispersion exhibit significantly enhanced mechanical properties compared to those produced from non-LC GO dispersions. The improved tensile strength is attributed to the larger GO flake size and highly ordered alignment achieved in the LC phase. The LC-derived fibers demonstrated a Young's modulus of 12.3 GPa, a tensile strength of 146.8 MPa, and an elongation at break of 2.5%. These findings emphasize the critical role of flake size and LC ordering in enhancing the performance of GO-based fibers and suggest a straightforward pathway toward scalable fabrication of strong yet flexible carbon-based materials.