A sonication of graphite in polysaccharide (pullulan, chitosan and alginate) is one of the viable methods for the preparation of few-layer graphene. However, the effect of these adsorbed polysaccharides on the electrical performance of the produced graphene so far is not yet clear. In order to investigate the present effect of pullulan, chitosan and alginate on the electrical characteristic of resulted graphene, we have produced few-layer graphene using bath sonication of graphite in pullulan, chitosan and alginate medium for the application as electrical conductive ink in strain-sensitive. Data from the TEM reveals the appearance of folded few-layer graphene flakes after sonication for 150 min while the XPS data shows that the chitosan-based graphene possesses the highest carbon-oxygen ratio of 7.2 as compared to that of the pullulan and alginate-based graphene. By subjecting the produced graphene as the ink for paper-based strain sensor, we have discovered that the chitosan-graphene has the best resistivity value (1.66 × 10-3 Ω⋅cm) and demonstrate the highest sensitivity towards strain (GF: 18.6). This result interestingly implies the potential of the reported chitosan-based conductive ink as a strain-sensitive material for future food packaging.
In the current work, a Gum, Arabic-modified Graphene (GGA), has been synthesized via a facile green method and employed for the first time as an additive for enhancement of the PPSU ultrafiltration membrane properties. A series of PPSU membranes containing very low (0-0.25) wt.% GGA were prepared, and their chemical structure and morphology were comprehensively investigated through atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Besides, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was harnessed to measure thermal characteristics, while surface hydrophilicity was determined by the contact angle. The PPSU-GGA membrane performance was assessed through volumetric flux, solute flux, and retention of sodium alginate solution as an organic polysaccharide model. Results demonstrated that GGA structure had been successfully synthesized as confirmed XRD patterns. Besides, all membranes prepared using low GGA content could impart enhanced hydrophilic nature and permeation characteristics compared to pristine PPSU membranes. Moreover, greater thermal stability, surface roughness, and a noticeable decline in the mean pore size of the membrane were obtained.