초록
<P>The understanding of microbial growth dynamics during <I>in situ</I> fermentation and production of bacterial cellulose (BC) with impressive properties mimicking artificial nacre, suitable for commodity applications remains fundamentally challenging. Fabrication of BC/graphene films through a single step <I>in situ</I> fermentation with improved properties provides a sustainable replacement to the conventional chemical-based modification using toxic compounds. This work reports the effect of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on <I>in situ</I> fermentation kinetics and demonstrates the formation of percolated-network in BC/RGO nanostructures. The evaluation of kinetic parameters shows that the specific growth rate reaches optimal values at 3 wt % RGO loadings, with mixed growth associated BC production behavior. The two-dimensional graphene sheets uniformly dispersed into a three-dimensional matrix of BC nanofibers via hydrogen-bonded interactions along with <I>in situ</I> reductions of RGO sheets, as confirmed from spectroscopic studies. This study also demonstrates the presence of percolated network-like structures between BC fibers and RGO platelets, which resulted in the formation of nanostructures with exceptional mechanical robustness and electrical conductivity. The physicochemical and structural properties of fabricated BC/RGO films were found to significantly depend upon the RGO compositions as well as fermentation conditions. We envision that the proposed ecofriendly and scalable technology for the formation of BC/RGO films with excellent inherent properties and performance will attract great interest for its prospective applications in flexible electronics.</P><BR>[FIG OMISSION]</BR>