Highly conductive composites using polypyrrole and carbon nanotubes on polydopamine functionalized cotton fabric for wearable sensing and heating applications.

Highly conductive polypyrrole (PPy)/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/polydopamine (PDA)/cotton composite fabrics were developed for wearable sensing and joule heating applications. The PDA templated pristine knitted cotton fabric was dip-coated with SWCNT prior to the chemical polymerization of PPy. The different composites were characterized by employing scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The PDA-induced surface modification of the cotton fabric ensured optimum absorption of the SWCNT molecules present in the coating media and provided an active substrate surface for PPy deposition. The presence of PPy significantly improved the electrical conductance of the SWCNT/PDA/cotton fabric and exhibited a superior conductivity of 8 Ω/sq. The composites showed improved electromechanical performance and excellent wearable sensing profile while monitoring different human motions such as finger bending, handwriting, drinking, etc. in real-time. In addition, the uniform heat distribution of the composite fabric attached to the hand gloves confirmed its suitability for a wearable thermal device that could reach 144.6 °C within 100 s after heating at 5 V. The fabrication of PPy/SWCNT/PDA/cotton composite fabric offers a facile but effective approach to develop durable electronic textiles for wearable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]