NGI

Researchers at the National Graphene Institute (NGI) have created a method to produce scalable graphene-based yarn. Such e-textiles may have great potential for sportswear, healthcare, aerospace, and fitness applications, and so are attracting research attention worldwide.

Integrating textile-based sensors into garments in the manufacturing process is still time-consuming and complex. It is also expensive non-biodegradable, unstable, metallic conductive materials are still being used. Now, the NGI researchers have developed a process that has the potential to produce tonnes of conductive graphene-based yarn. It is possible to do this using current textile machinery without any addition to production costs. The produces graphene-based yarn is also said to be flexible, cheap, biodegradable, and washable.

The collaboration between the University of Manchester and British sportswear brand Inov-8, which started in 2017 and has already produced the G-Series range of graphene-enhanced shoes, has now also resulted in a pair of hiking boots which utilize graphene.

Building on the above-mentioned use of graphene in trail running and fitness shoes last summer, Inov-8 is now bringing the technology to a market it considers to have been "starved of innovation". Two ROCLITE boots with graphene-enhanced rubber grip have been produced – the ROCLITE 335 and the ROCLITE 345 GTX. The former offers increased warmth on cold days, while the latter has waterproof GORE-TEX protection for hiking adventures in wet conditions.