Conductivity Trends of PEDOT-PSS Impregnated Fabric and the Effect of Conductivity on Electrochromic Textile

Abstract

A stretchable e-textile was fabricated by simply soaking Spandex fabric in a conductive polymer aqueous dispersion, PEDOT-PSS. The resulting conductive fabric had an average conductivity of 0.1 S/cm. Subjecting the fabric to more than one soaking step increased the conductivity of the fabric up to ca. 2.0 S/cm resulting in a 33% faster switching speed. This simple methodology is not limited to Spandex (50% nylon/50% polyurethane). Several other fabric compositions were investigated for their conductivity via this process, including 100% cotton, 60% cotton/40% polyester, 95% cotton/5% Lycra, 60%polyester/40% rayon, 100% polyester, and 80% nylon/20% Spandex, listed in order of decreasing hydrophilicity. Those fabrics with higher water uptake resulted in higher conductivities upon soaking in PEDOT-PSS. Electrochromic polymers coated on the fabric could be switched between their different colored states, even upon stretching of the Spandex. SEM revealed that the electrochromic polymer coated on the substrate separated under stretching, uncovering the color of the base conducting fabric. It was found that the PEDOT-PSS was not a film on the Spandex but rather homogenously dispersed nanoparticles within the fabric matrix forming a percolated network.

Polypyrrole coated nylon lycra fabric as stretchable electrode for supercapacitor applications

“…It was much higher than 10%, the commonly recognized mechanical strain at which PPy films can endure and still retain their conductivity [35]. This high stretchability might be due to its homogenous distribution as nanoparticles on the fabric, which was in agreement with the result obtained with PEDOT-PSS on Spandex fabric by Y. Ding et al [36].…”

Highly conductive PEDOT:PSS treated by sodium dodecyl sulfate for stretchable fabric heaters

“…20 Since fabrics such as cotton and synthetic fabrics are not conductive, conducting materials must be loaded into the fabric; the simplest method for loading of fabrics is dipping the fabric into a solution containing the conductive polymer because fabrics can be well impregnated with aqueous solutions. 21 Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most successfully commercialised conductive polymers owing to its high mechanical exibility and excellent thermal stability. 22 However, the electrical conductivity of pristine PEDOT:PSS is less than 1 S cm À1 , which is too low to be utilised in heaters.…”

Electrostatic power generation using carbon-activated cotton thread on textile

“…In addition, various methods of treating cotton without losing cotton's unique set of physical properties have been broadly studied [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Thus, we used cotton as a base substrate material for a thread-based wearable power harvester and embedded carbon black nano particles within cotton threads for enhancing electrical conductive properties as depicted in Figure 1a.…”