Spinning graphene into fibres

Macroscopic fibres made up of graphene are reported this week in Nature Communications. These could lead to their use as functional textiles with high conductivity. Graphene has received widespread attention as a result of its exceptional electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. So far, the focus has mostly been on its electrical properties and their potential for electronics applications. Zhen Xu and Chao Gao show how to spin macroscopic graphene fibres starting from a colloidal solution of graphene oxide liquid crystals. The fibres can be knitted into a range of designs, and offer an alternative approach for fabricating carbon fibres.