Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 11, Issue 6, Pages 6208-6216Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b18231
Keywords
E-textiles; inkjet printing; particle freereactive ink; silver coating; conductive pattern; bending; washability
Funding
- US National Science Foundation through the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems for Integrated Sensors and Technologies [EEC 1160483]
- State of North Carolina
- National Science Foundation [ECCS-1542015]
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Inkjet printing of functional inks on textiles to embed passive electronics devices and sensors is a novel approach in the space of wearable electronic textiles. However, achieving functionality such as conductivity by inkjet printing on textiles is challenged by the porosity and surface roughness of textiles. Nanoparticle-based conductive inks frequently cause blockage/clogging of inkjet printer nozzles, making it a less than ideal method for applying these functional materials. It is also very challenging to create a conformal conductive coating and achieve electrically conductive percolation with the inkjet printing of metal nanoparticle inks on rough and porous textile and paper substrates. Herein, a novel reliable and conformal inkjet printing process is demonstrated for printing particle-free reactive silver on uncoated polyester textile knit, woven, and nonwoven fabrics. The particle-free functional ink can conformally coat individual fibers to create a conductive network within the textile structure without changing the feel, texture, durability, and mechanical behavior of the textile. It was found that the conductivity and the resolution of the inkjet-printed tracks are directly related with the packing and the tightness of fabric structures and fiber sizes of the fabrics. It is noteworthy that the electrical conductivity of the inkjet-printed conductive coating on pristine polyethylene terephthalate fibers is improved by an order of magnitude by in situ heat-curing of the textile surface during printing as the in situ heat-curing process minimizes the wicking of the ink into the textile structures. A minimum sheet resistance of 0.2 +/- 0.025 and 0.9 +/- 0.02 Omega/square on polyester woven and polyester knit fabrics is achieved, respectively. These findings aim to advance E-textile product design through integration of inkjet printing as a low-cost, scalable, and automated manufacturing process.
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