TY - JOUR
T1 - A Green Electrically Conductive Textile with Tunable Piezoresistivity and Transiency
AU - Cataldi, Pietro
AU - Steiner, Pietro
AU - Liu, Mufeng
AU - Pinter, Gergo
AU - Athanassiou, Athanassia
AU - Kocabas, Coskun
AU - Kinloch, Ian a.
AU - Bissett, Mark a.
PY - 2023/7/25
Y1 - 2023/7/25
N2 - A green textile-based conductor with controllable electrical resistance change with deformation and transiency (i.e., dissolution in water) will be the holy grail in wearable electronics since it can satisfy divergent needs with a single solution and be sustainable simultaneously. Nevertheless, designing such material is challenging since opposite requirements shall be satisfied. To solve such a problem, cotton is functionalized using conductive inks made of graphene or carbon nanofiber, a biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol binder, and environmentally friendly solvents. The electrical resistance shows an anisotropic response to bending depending on the composition of the coating and the stress direction, functioning either as a deformable compliant electrode or a tunable piezoresistor. Indeed, it can withstand thousands of bending cycles with a change in resistance of less than 5% or change its resistance by many orders of magnitude with the same deformation thanks to the combination of cotton twill and different nanofillers. A simple modification in the binder composition adding waterborne polyurethane allows the coating to go from entirely transient in water within minutes to withstanding simulated washing cycles for hours without losing its electrical conductivity. This green versatile conductor may serve opposing needs by altering the material composition and the deformation direction.
AB - A green textile-based conductor with controllable electrical resistance change with deformation and transiency (i.e., dissolution in water) will be the holy grail in wearable electronics since it can satisfy divergent needs with a single solution and be sustainable simultaneously. Nevertheless, designing such material is challenging since opposite requirements shall be satisfied. To solve such a problem, cotton is functionalized using conductive inks made of graphene or carbon nanofiber, a biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol binder, and environmentally friendly solvents. The electrical resistance shows an anisotropic response to bending depending on the composition of the coating and the stress direction, functioning either as a deformable compliant electrode or a tunable piezoresistor. Indeed, it can withstand thousands of bending cycles with a change in resistance of less than 5% or change its resistance by many orders of magnitude with the same deformation thanks to the combination of cotton twill and different nanofillers. A simple modification in the binder composition adding waterborne polyurethane allows the coating to go from entirely transient in water within minutes to withstanding simulated washing cycles for hours without losing its electrical conductivity. This green versatile conductor may serve opposing needs by altering the material composition and the deformation direction.
KW - carbon nanofibers
KW - graphene
KW - green electronics
KW - polyvinyl alcohol
KW - wearable electronics
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85153278286
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/f06808c9-9179-35d1-b03c-fd71cd9a585c/
U2 - 10.1002/adfm.202301542
DO - 10.1002/adfm.202301542
M3 - Article
SN - 1616-3028
VL - 33
JO - Advanced Functional Materials
JF - Advanced Functional Materials
IS - 30
M1 - 2301542
ER -