Textile-based Electrochemical Sensing: Effect of Fabric Substrate and Detection of Nitroaromatic Explosives

This study examines the influence of textile substrates upon the behavior of wearable screen-printed electrodes and demonstrates the attractive sensing properties of these sensors towards the detection of nitroaromatic explosives. Compared to electrodes printed on common cotton or polyester substrates, GORE-TEX-based electrochemical sensors display reproducible background cyclic voltammograms, reflecting the excellent water-repellant properties of the GORE-TEX fabric. The wetting properties of different printed textile electrodes are elucidated using contact angle measurements. The influence of laundry washing and mechanical stress is explored. The GORE-TEX-based printed electrodes exhibit favorable detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosives, including rapid detection of DNT vapor.