Researchers demonstrate reversible fusion and fission of graphene oxide–based fibers

Researchers from Zhejiang University, Xi’an Jiaotong University and Monash University have developed a way to bind multiple strands of graphene oxide together, creating a process that could prove useful in manufacturing complex architectures.

Reversible fusion and fission of GO fibers. Credit: Science

In recent years, materials scientists have been exploring the possibility of making products using total or partial self-assembly as a way to produce them faster or at less cost. In biological systems where two materials self-assemble into a third material, scientists describe this as a fusion process. Accordingly, when a single material spontaneously separates into two or more other materials, they refer to it as a fission process. In this new work, the researchers have developed a technique for creating graphene-oxide-based yarn that exploits both processes.