Conductive Coatings of Cotton Fabric Consisting of Carbonized Charcoal for E-Textile

Abstract

Development of smart textiles is an emerging discipline in the last two decades where a conductive element is integrated into a textile material by some means. The purpose of this research was to develop a conductive textile fabric by coating with charcoal as a conductive element. The charcoal was produced by carbonizing the eucalyptus wood at a temperature of 928 °C for 37 min producing 59.17% w/w of fixed carbon yield and conductivity of 463.34 Sm−1 (Siemens per meter) compared to immeasurable conductivity of the wood. This was followed by characterization of physical and chemical properties of charcoal. Thereafter, a cotton fabric was pad-coated with a dispersion based on the charcoal. The paper herein reports the results of preparing different recipes using different quantities of charcoal particles with other components of the coating mixture, which was tested to obtain the best coating in terms of electrical conductivity. The optimal concentration of the conductive particles of the charcoal was studied. Performance evaluation of the coated fabric was assessed for the durability of fabric towards different fastness agents. The effect of charcoal loading on thermal and sensorial comfort of the fabric in addition to the air and water permeability was studied and a significant change was observed. Finally, a proof of concept was developed to demonstrate if the resulting pieces of information during the process were viable. As observed, the pad-coated cotton fabric using charcoal showed increased electrical conductivity from 1.58 × 10−12 Scm−1 (Siemens per centimeter) for the controlled sample to 124.49 Scm−1 for the coated sample designating that the resulting fabric is in a conductor category.

Joule-Heating Effect of Thin Films with Carbon-Based Nanomaterials

“…Depending on the main focus, the challenge is sometimes to produce functional textiles while keeping their inherent properties. One of the critical requirements for being a smart textile is having electrical conductivity besides being flexible and lightweight [4]. Light weight, high stretchability, and good deformation flexibility are the vital factors for textiles to be used for flexible devices, with conductive textiles standing as a good fit for these applications [5].…”

“…Cotton textiles have low conductivity and high resistance value in their pristine state and are considered low-conductive materials [4]. From the literature, it can be noted that electrical conductivity can be enhanced in two ways: by introducing the yarn with conductive properties in the fabrics and by coating it with conductive materials [8].…”

Cellulosic-Based Conductive Hydrogels for Electro-Active Tissues: A Review Summary

“…Carbon-based materials are regarded as promising conductive materials for the fabrication of conductive hydrogels, due to their unique properties of high electrical conductivities, excellent environmental stability, and low production costs [ 88 ]. Materials that consist of only carbon atoms can have a wide range of conductivities, from the insulator diamond to conductors such as charcoal [ 93 ], carbon black (CB), graphene, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [ 94 , 95 ]. The level of conductivity will depend on the degree of delocalized electrons, thus making the graphitization and purity of the carbon compounds important factors [ 96 ].…”

Multiwalled-Carbon-Nanotubes (MWCNTs)–GPTMS/Tannic-Acid-Nanocomposite-Coated Cotton Fabric for Sustainable Antibacterial Properties and Electrical Conductivity

“…Test Method 76-1995 of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists was used to conduct the measurements [29,30].…”