Shaila Afroj

The University of Manchester · Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC)

Smart wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) that can detect and differentiate multiple stimuli, while also collecting and storing the diverse array of data signals using highly innovative, multifunctional, and intelligent garments, are of great value for personalized healthcare applications. However, material performance and sustainability, com...

Graphene-based wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) show promise for next-generation personalized healthcare applications due to their non-invasive nature. However, the poor performance, less comfort, and higher material cost limit their wide applications. Here a simple and scalable production method of producing graphene-based electro-conduct...

Electronic textiles (e‐textiles) have drawn significant attention from the scientific and engineering community as lightweight and comfortable next‐generation wearable devices due to their ability to interface with the human body, and continuously monitor, collect, and communicate various physiological parameters. However, one of the major challeng...

Sustainable fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites from renewable and biodegradable fibrous materials and polymer matrices are of great interest, as they can potentially reduce environmental impacts. However, the overall properties of such composites are still far from the high-performance conventional glass or carbon FRP composites. Therefore,...

Nanocomposites have received significant interest in recent years, as they offer improved properties compared to conventional materials for various applications. Among many available nanofillers, graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) have shown promising results for polymer-based nanocomposites applications. This paper investigates the mechanical and therma...

Multifunctional fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) composites provide an ideal platform for next‐generation smart composites applications including structural health monitoring, electrical and thermal conductivity, energy storage and harvesting, and electromagnetic interference shielding without compromising their mechanical properties. Recent progress...

Wearable e-textiles have gained huge tractions due to their potential for non-invasive health monitoring. However, manufacturing of multifunctional wearable e-textiles remains challenging, due to poor performance, comfortability, scalability, and cost. Here we report a fully-printed, highly-conductive, flexible and machine-washable e-textiles platf...

The COVID‐19 pandemic highlighted the need for rapid tools and technologies to combat highly infectious viruses. The excellent electrical, mechanical and other functional properties of graphene and graphene‐like 2D materials (2DM) can be utilized to develop novel and innovative devices to tackle COVID‐19 and future pandemics. Here, the authors outl...

Natural fibre reinforced composites (FRC) are of great interests, due to their biodegradability, recyclability, and environmental benefits over synthetic FRC. Natural jute FRC could provide environmentally sustainable, light weight and cost-effective alternative to synthetic FRC. However, the application of natural jute FRC is limited because of th...

Personal protective clothing is critical to shield users from highly infectious diseases including COVID-19. Such clothing is predominantly single-use, made of plastic-based synthetic fibres such as polypropylene and polyester, low cost and able to provide protection against pathogens. However, the environmental impacts of synthetic fibre-based clo...

Personal protective clothing is critical to shield users from highly infectious diseases including COVID-19. Such clothing is predominantly single-use, made of plastic-based synthetic fibers such as polypropylene and polyester, low cost and able to provide protection against pathogens. However, the environmental impacts of synthetic fiber-based clo...

Graphene-based wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) have shown promise due to their advantages over metal-based technologies. Among them, graphene-derivatives such as graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based e-textiles are of great interests, because of their excellent washability, flexibility and durability, possibly via sui...

Smart and sustainable natural fiber‐based composites are of great interest due to their biodegradability, recyclability, and environmental benefits over synthetic fiber composites. In addition, the environmental impact of plastics and synthetic fibers are widespread and substantial, as they can stay in the environment for hundreds of years and cont...

Wearable electronics are becoming increasingly popular, since such technology makes life safer, healthier, and more comfortable. Among them, smart wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) have been going through significant evolutions in recent years, through the innovation of wearable electronics, due to the miniaturization of technology and the...

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from highly infectious diseases such as the Covid-19. However, hospitals have been at risk of running out of the safe and effective PPE including personal protective clothing needed to treat patients with Covid-19, due to unprecedented global demand. In addition, t...

Graphene‐based textiles show promise for next‐generation wearable electronic applications due to their advantages over metal‐based technologies. However, current reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐based electronic textiles (e‐textiles) suffer from poor electrical conductivity and higher power consumption. Here, highly conductive, ultraflexible, and machi...

In this study, we demonstrate sustainable conductive screen printing ink containing graphite nanoplates (GNP) prepared by means of combining shear and ultrasonication exfoliation processes with the aid of mixed-solvent strategy of isopropanol (IPA)-water mixtures. The screen printed GNP ink features high conductivity of 4.66×10⁴ S/m, green and low...

Inkjet-printed wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) are considered to be very promising due to excellent processing and environmental benefits offered by digital fabrication technique. Inkjet-printing of conductive metallic inks such as silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) are well-established and that of graphene-based inks is of great interest du...

Natural fibers composites are considered as sustainable alternative to synthetic composites due to their environmental and economic benefits. However, they suffer from poor mechanical and interfacial properties due to a random fiber orientation and weak fiber-matrix interface. Here we report nano-engineered graphene-based natural jute fiber preform...

Inkjet-printed wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) are considered to be very promising due to excellent processing and environmental benefits offered by digital fabrication technique. Inkjet-printing of conductive metallic inks such as silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) are well-established and that of graphene-based inks is of great interest du...

Natural fibers composites are considered as sustainable alternative to synthetic composites due to their environmental and economic benefits. However, they suffer from poor mechanical and interfacial properties due to a random fiber orientation and weak fiber-matrix interface. Here we report nano-engineered graphene-based natural jute fiber preform...

Inkjet-printed wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) are considered to be very promising due to excellent processing and environmental benefits offered by digital fabrication technique. Inkjet-printing of conductive metallic inks such as silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) are well-established and that of graphene-based inks is of great interest du...

Multifunctional wearable e-textiles have been a focus of much attention due to their great potential for healthcare, sportswear, fitness, space, and military applications. Among them, electroconductive textile yarn shows great promise for use as next-generation flexible sensors without compromising the properties and comfort of usual textiles. Howe...

Natural fibre composites are attracting significant interest due to their potential for replacing synthetic composites at lower cost with improved environmental sustainability. However, natural fibre composites suffer from poor mechanical and interfacial properties. Here we report coating of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene flakes (G) onto natural...

Graphene-based de-icing composites are of great interest due to incredible thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of graphene. Moreover, current technologies possess a number of challenges such as expensive, high power consumption, limited life time and adding extra weight to the composites. Here, we report a scalable process of making highl...

Graphene-based wearable e-textiles are considered to be promising due to their advantages over traditional metal-based technology. However the manufacturing process is complex and currently not suitable for industrial scale application. Here we report a simple, scalable and cost-effective method of producing graphene-based wearable e-textiles throu...

Inkjet printing of graphene inks are considered to be very promising for wearable e-textiles applications as benefits of both inkjet printing and extra-ordinary electronic, optical and mechanical properties of graphene can be exploited. However, the common problem associated with inkjet printing of conductive ink on textiles is the difficulty to pr...

Printed graphene supercapacitors have the potential to empower tomorrow's wearable electronics. We report a solid-state flexible supercapacitor device printed on textiles using graphene oxide ink and a screen-printing technique. After printing, graphene oxide was reduced in situ via a rapid electrochemical method avoiding the use of any reducing re...

Herein we report formulation and inkjet printing of highly conductive graphene-based composite inks for wearable applications. The sheet resistance achieved with graphene-based composite inks were found to be in the range of 0.08 –4.74 Ω/sq. The optimised ink was successfully applied for printing electronic textiles.

There has been growing interest in using poly (lactic acid) (PLA) fibres because of its natural-based origin and good biodegradability; however, its adoption within the textile industry has been limited to lower temperature wet and dry processing, because of its relatively lower glass transition temperature (T g) and melting point (T m). Here we re...