Research explores conductive nanocoatings on textiles

‘Normally, conductive nanocoatings are applied to inorganic materials [such as] silicon. If we can find a way to apply them to textiles — cheap, flexible materials with a contorted surface texture — it would represent a cost-effective approach and framework for improving current and future types of electronic devices,’ said Dr Jesse Jur, assistant professor of textile engineering, chemistry and science, and lead author of a paper describing the research.

Using atomic layer deposition, coatings of inorganic materials — typically used in devices such as solar cells, sensors and microelectronics — were grown on the surface of textiles such as woven cotton and non-woven polypropylene, showing that common textile materials can be used for complex electronic devices.

As part of their study, the researchers created a procedure to quantify effective electrical conductivity of conductive coatings on textile materials.

According to a statement, the current standard of measuring conductivity uses a four-point probe that applies a current between two probes and senses a voltage between the other two probes.