1. Stretchable Ultrasheer Fabrics as Semitransparent Electrodes for Wearable Light-Emitting e-Textiles with Changeable Display Patterns
- Author
-
Yunyun Wu, Sara S. Mechael, R. Stephen Carmichael, Cecilia Lerma, and Tricia Breen Carmichael
- Subjects
Fabrication ,Materials science ,E-textiles ,Textile ,stretchable electronics ,Stretchable electronics ,light-emitting devices ,Wearable computer ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,knitted nylon/spandex fabric ,gold-coated fabrics ,wearable electronics ,General Materials Science ,stencil printing ,stretchable ACEL devices ,electroless metallization ,e-textiles ,Wearable technology ,Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology ,Stencil printing ,business.industry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Clothing ,0104 chemical sciences ,Chemistry ,conductive fabrics ,Improvement [MAP5] ,0210 nano-technology ,business - Abstract
Despite the development throughout human history of a wealth of textile materials and structures, the porous structures and non-planar surfaces of textiles are often viewed as problematic for the fabrication of wearable e-textiles and smart clothing. Here, we demonstrate a new textile-centric design paradigm in which we use the textile structure as an integral part of wearable device design. We coat the open framework structure of an ultrasheer knitted textile with a conformal gold film using solution-based metallization to form gold-coated ultrasheer electrodes that are highly conductive (3.6 ± 0.9 Ω/sq) and retain conductivity to 200% strain with R/R0 < 2. The ultrasheer electrodes produce wearable, highly stretchable light-emitting e-textiles that function to 200% strain. Stencil printing a wax resist provides patterned electrodes for patterned light emission; furthermore, incorporating soft-contact lamination produces light-emitting textiles that exhibit, for the first time, readily changeable patterns of illumination.
- Published
- 2020