Multifunctional Smart Fabrics through Nanodiamond-Polyaniline Nanocomposites

Abstract

Durable, sensitive and wearable electronics are highly desirable for monitoring everything from vital signs to athletic performance. However, electronic textiles with excellent functions, stability, comfort, and durability against washing/rubbing remain a big challenge. Herein, a coating containing nanocomposites of polyaniline (PANI) with nanodiamond (ND) was applied to the surface of wool fabrics through an in situ polymerization technique. The nanocomposite fabrics with PANI-ND demonstrated high sensitivity, enhanced durability, and excellent mechanical properties without compromising the inherent properties of textiles such as comfort and breathability. Wool fabrics were treated with aniline, aniline-ND, and aniline-boron doped ND (BDND) to investigate the molecular interaction between ND/BDND and PANI and their effects on the final properties, such as comfort, mechanical and electrochemical properties of the treated fabric. The PANI-ND coated fabrics showed sheet resistances below 10 kΩ/sq and up to a 2-fold decrease in response to monotonically increasing and cyclic mechanical strains compared with the PANI-coated fabric. Wool fabric coated with PANI-ND is a sensitive sensor that can withstand strain up to 100%, which is remarkable for delicate fibers. The developed sensor can detect human motion, such as bending of a finger to different angles. The moisture properties of the fabric coated with PANI-ND improved significantly along with durability against washing and abrasion without affecting its breathability. This work provides insights into developing highly sensitive multifunctional electronic textiles (such as wearable sensors) without compromising the intrinsic properties of textiles.

Emerging washable textronics for imminent e-waste mitigation: strategies, reliability, and perspectives

“…For example, Rehman et al attempted to evaluate the washability of their conductive wool fabric according to the ISO 105-C08 standard, where the tested fabric sample was washed for 30 min at 40 C by adding 25 stainless steel balls to the washing bath (liquor to fabric ratio of 20 mL g À1 ). 270 To withstand the considerable damage by washing, they did not use any encapsulants or hydrophobic layering on the wool fabric and merely treated the fabric with PANI and boron-doped nano-diamonds (BDND). Consequently, the study failed to prove the long-term washability (above 10 cycles) of the PANI/BDND-coated fabric electrodes and only managed to show wash durability for 5 cycles.…”

Nanodiamond-Based Fibrous Composites: A Review of Fabrication Methods, Properties, and Applications

“…The resultant reaction mixture was allowed to polymerize overnight at 0 °C, which resulted in the formation of a PANI− ND composite onto the surface of fabrics. 116 These are only a few studies found regarding polymer/ND fibrous composites. More studies are required in this aspect because various polymers can be used.…”

“…95 FTIR spectra for ND−PANI composites onto wool fabrics confirmed the presence of ND and PANI, and it was suggested that hydrogen and electrostatic interaction might be formed within ND, PANI, and wool for a durable coating. 116 Wide-angle X-ray scattering can also be performed on ND−fibrous composites to confirm the presence of ND because the diffraction peaks can correspond to various cubic diamond planes. 95 ND agglomeration and distribution within fibrous substrates (Figure 5a) can be confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).…”

Smart pH-Responsive Polyaniline-Coated Hollow Polymethylmethacrylate Microspheres: A Potential pH Neutralizer for Water Purification Systems

“… 53 , 54 Hollow polymethylmethacrylate microspheres, due to their inherent physicochemical properties, offer themselves as a prospective material for surface functionalization to develop intelligent materials for scientific and technological applications. 55 − 57 …”

“…Polyaniline (PANI), one of the oldest known conducting polymers, is still being looked upon as a promising material for the development of new materials due to their prominent insulator-to-conductor transition through protonation. Polyaniline also attracts the interest of the scientific community due to its ease of synthesis, cost-effective nature, and good environmental, thermal, and chemical stability. − Therefore, PANI has also been used in interface science to develop smart materials with super-wetting surfaces and such pH-responsive polyaniline coating has been successfully used for effective separation of a complex oil–water mixture. , Hollow polymethylmethacrylate microspheres, due to their inherent physicochemical properties, offer themselves as a prospective material for surface functionalization to develop intelligent materials for scientific and technological applications. − …”