Thin Electric Heating Membrane Constructed with a Three-Dimensional Nanofibrillated Cellulose–Graphene–Graphene Oxide System

Abstract

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and graphene oxide (GO) with reinforcing and film-forming properties were employed with graphene to develop a novel and thin electric heating membrane with heat dissipation controllability. A negative charge was found on the surface of GO and NFC in aqueous dispersions, which contributed to the homogeneous distribution of the graphene sheets. The membrane had a good laminated structure with three-dimensional interaction between GO and NFC, with embedded graphene sheets. Conductivity was characterized as a function of the amount of graphene, thus giving control over to the heating power by adjusting the ratio of graphene. Subsequent electric heating tests can remove irregularities on the GO and graphene sheet, improving the laminated structure further. The temperature on the surface of the membrane presented an exponential increasing regularity with time. Under the same power density and time, the stabilized temperature rise of membranes was higher when grammage was higher, which was characterized by the linear function of the power density. Low-grammage membranes (1 and 4 g·m−2) also exhibited regular and even stabilized temperature rises. The indicated structure and heating performance of the membrane, as well as the variation induced by Joule heating, would drive its applications.