We report the synthesis and application of graphene e-textiles towards the development of wearable sensors for acquisition, routine monitoring and processing of biopotential signals. The functionality of the developed graphene-coated textiles have been demonstrated by non-invasive measurement of electrocardiography (ECG) and electrooculography (EOG) signals. Excellent cross correlation of up to 97% was achieved between signals measured with the new textile electrode and that of a commercial silver/silver-chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrode. Our pioneering eorts in this eld will be demonstrated by soft, functional nanotextile platforms with embedded electronics; otherwise referred to as smart garments, which can be employed in a variety of applications ranging from personalized healthcare to human-computer interaction.

1. Abstract: Electrooculogram (EOG) is a measurement technique to record the biopotential signals induced by the movement of the
eyeballs and EOG signals are critical for the development of wearable medical sensors and interfaces for human-computer interaction.
Unlike traditional “wet” electrodes which profoundly hinder the development of wearable EOG sensors, in this study, we report for the
first time the use of graphene-coated fabric electrodes for EOG acquisition and overcome the limitations of conventional “wet”
electrodes. We demonstrate the proof-of-concept of graphene textile electrodes for EOG acquisition with a side-by-side comparison to
conventional Ag/AgCl electrodes.
WEARABLE GRAPHENE TEXTILE-ENABLED
ELECTROOCULOGRAM (EOG) SENSING
Ata Jedari Golparvar 1, Murat Kaya Yapici 1,2,3*
1 Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul 34956, Turkey
2 Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Istanbul 34956, Turkey
3 Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
MATERIAL SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION
GRAPHENE-COATED TEXTILE-BASED ELECTRODES
*Contact: Murat Kaya Yapici, mkyapici@sabanciuniv.edu
1 cm
back-side
front-side
Graphene-coated
Textile
6.3 cm
Measurement setup showing the electrode positioning in the
forehead and block diagram of the signal conditioning circuitry.
The treated nylon piece was cut and fastened from the back
where for prototyping, wires could be soldered for electrical
connection with the front-end circuitry.
Glass fibersNylon Cotton Wool KevlarPolyester
WEARABLE ELECTROOCULOGRAM (EOG) SENSING
Graphene cladded around the fiber Conductivity vs. Wash
SU-MEMS
mems.sabanciuniv.edu
GO-wetted textile
GO-coated textile
rGO-coated textile
Ordinary textile
Dip
Dry
Reduce
Graphene Textile
EOG signals acquired using conventional Ag/AgCl
electrodes (left figure) and graphene textile electrodes (right
figure) while eyes are positioned at different locations.
The graphene-coated textiles were prepared by using a low-
cost and scalable technology which involves dipping ordinary
fabrics (e.g. nylon, cotton) in graphene oxide (GO) solution,
followed by thermal treatment and chemical reduction to
obtain graphene cladding around the fibers.
Detection of conscious blinks using wearable graphene textiles
which ensures robust operation of the electrodes; especially
critical for wearable sensor applications in brain computer
interfaces (BCI) and human computer interaction (HCI).
0 10 20 30 40 50
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
left
move
right
move
random blinks
left
voluntary
blinks
right
move
left
move
right centercentercenter
Amplitude[V]
Time [s]
0 10 20 30 40 50
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
left
move
right
move
right
move
left
left
move
right centercentercenter
voluntary
blinks
random blinks
Amplitude[V]
Time [s]
Conventional Wet Electrode Graphene Textile Electrode
0 10 20 30 40 50
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
voluntary eye blink each 5s
blink
rest
Amplitude[v]
Time [s]
BCI and HCI Applications
«Non-destroyable graphene cladding on a range of textile and other fibers and fiber mats» RSC Advances, 2014
«Graphene-clad textile electrodes for electrocardiogram monitoring»Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2015