Multifunctional three-dimensional graphene nanoribbons composite sponge

Abstract Graphene nanoribbons are thin strips of graphene with high aspect ratio similar to carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and have been verified to exhibit excellent chemical and physical properties. Although individual graphene nanoribbons have been produced by longitudinal unzipping of carbon nanotubes or patterned growth in large scale, it is still a challenge to construct these unique structures into macroscopic functional architectures using a cost-effective method. Here, we present an electrophoresis method to introduce graphene nanoribbons into commercial polyurethane sponges to fabricate polyurethane-based graphene nanoribbons sponges, which inherit the three-dimensional network and high porosity from original polyurethane sponges. The composite sponges exhibit outstanding mechanical, electronic and lipophilic–hydrophobic properties. Meanwhile, the graphene nanoribbon composite sponges with enhanced surface area and chemical functionality can serve as supercapacitor electrodes, showing a good cycling stability of 92% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles tested in a three-electrode electrochemical configuration. Our multifunctional graphene nanoribbon composite sponges may find potential applications in many fields such as environmental cleanup, flexible supercapacitors and compression strain sensors.