A Multifunctional Smart Textile Derived from Merino Wool/Nylon Polymer Nanocomposites as Next Generation Microwave Absorber and Soft Touch Sensor

Abstract

In recent times e-textiles have emerged as wonder safeguards due to the great potential background in space, military, healthcare, or portable electronics. As a result, widespread research and development have been done to make significant advancement in this field, but it still remains a key challenge to use one single product with multifunctional attributes with the past performance of key characteristics. In this work, phase-separated PEDOT:PSS ornamented with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, deposited on the newly fabricated ultralightweight, superhydrophobic, and mechanically enriched merino wool/nylon (W−N) composite textile followed by the dipping and drying strategy. The open edges-layered structure of rGO helping uniform deposition of PEDOTs clusters, which allows the formation of a stacked layer of PEDOTs/rGO-PEDOTs/PEDOTs for robust three-dimensional electrical transforming channel network within the W−N textile surface. These dip-coated multifunctional textiles show high electrical conductivities up to 90.5 S cm −1 conjugated with a flexible electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency of 73.8 dB (in X-band) and in-plane thermal conductivity of 0.81 W/mK with a minimum thickness of 0.84 mm. This thin coating maintained the hydrophobicity (water contact angle of ∼150°) leading to an excellent EM protective cloth combined with real-life antenna performance under high mechanical or chemical tolerance. Interestingly, this multiuse textile can also act as an exceptional TASER Proof Textile (TPT) due to a short out of the electrical shock coming from the TASER by its unique conducting network architecture. Remarkably, this coated textile can get a response by the soft touch to lighten up the household bulb and could establish wireless communication via an HC-05 Bluetooth module as a textile-based touch switch. This developed fabric could perform as a new potentially scalable single product in intelligent smart garments, portable nextgeneration electronics, and the growing threat of EM pollution.

Photocatalytic activity and antibacterial properties of linen fabric using reduced graphene oxide/silver nanocomposite

“…23 Electroconducting cellulose-based bers have been developed as excellent candidates for a wide range of innovative applications in the elds of organic electronics, sensors, antistatistic materials, electromagnetic inductive inductor harnessing, heating, and energy storage systems. 24 When compostable or incinerated with energy for recycling at the end of their life cycle, they have the benets of being plentiful, sustainable, biodegradable, and carbon dioxide free. It takes little energy for their processing and their waste stream is recyclable and biodegradable.…”

Flexible wearable sensors - an update in view of touch-sensing

“…Through adding electronic elements, e-textiles such as conductive fibers or fabrics can use in wearable devices, human-machine interface, or controlling/monitoring applications [84,85]. One kind of the dip-coated multifunctional textiles has been completed by uniform deposition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) clusters and a stacked layer of PEDOTs/rGO-PEDOTs/PEDOTs within the wool/nylon textile surface [86]. As a result, the soft-touch textile sensors (Figure 3c diode.…”

Role of the interface on electron transport in electro‐conductive polymer‐matrix composite: A review

“…[ 109 ] In another work same group has reported multifunctionality of nylon‐based CPC as microwave absorber along with soft touch sensors. [ 113 ] All the stimuli responsive change in electrical conductivity of CPC make them suitable candidate not only for VOC and strain sensor but also for other smart applications like stretchable and flexible conductor, [ 114 ] electronic skin, [ 115 ] smart textile material, [ 116 ] surface protection materials, membrane for gas separation, [ 117 ] and so on. It can be concluded that CPC has tremendous application regime owing to their lightweight, tunable electrical and mechanical properties, and ease of production, which is perfectly compatible with industrial adaptation, and low cost.…”