A new Approach for Preparation of Smart Conductive Textiles by Polyaniline through in-situ polymerization technique

Abstract

In this work, cotton fabrics were treated by aniline (Pan) monomer. The treatment bath was consists of Aniline (ANI) at different concentrations (0.1-0.5 mole/l), oxidizing agent (0.2 mole/l) as Ferric Chloride and doping agent as Egyptol(0.2 g/l) at different pH( 1-4 ) which adjusted by hydrochloric acid (HCl). This treatment carried out in order to deposit polyaniline (PANI) through in-situ polymerization technique to achieve conductive cotton fabrics in one step. The resulted fabrics were monitored by different tests as electricical measurements (conductivity, dielectric constant), color depth (K/S), square meter weight, tensile strength and elongation. To verify the presence of polyaniline, the treated fabric sample was examined using energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The results of tests show that, the electrical measurements, color depth, square meter weight, tensile strength and elongation increase by increasing aniline concentration. This behavior arises from increasing the extent of the conductive polymer on the fabric surface. The formulation, FeCl3 (0.2 M/L), Egyptol (0.2 g/L), aniline (0.2 M/L), temperature (25°C) and 4 hrs treatment at pH 2 is the best for polymerization of aniline on the surface of the fabric to produce conductive and antimicrobial fabrics.