A reliable method by utilizing thermo-responsive palladium nanocomposite for fabricating Nickel coating on nylon 6 fabrics

Abstract

Flexible conductive textiles are one of the best choices for smart textiles due to their comfortable wearing and good compliance with the human body. The great adhesion and durability of metal coatings onto substrate surfaces are important indicators for the high-performance requirements of smart textiles. The main bottleneck for the development of flexible conductive textiles is the poor adhesion between the metal coating and the substrate, so efforts have been made to improve it on a variety of fabrics. Herein, we reported a facile and economical method to fabricate flexible conductive fabrics using commercial nylon 6 fabrics as substrates. In brief, Styrene-co-N-Isopropylacrylamide/Pd (St-co-NIPAAm/Pd) nanocomposites acted as activators and adhesive interlayers for electroless plating to improve the adhesion of the nickel layer onto the nylon 6 surface. A highly conductive nylon 6 fabric was prepared by a coating of St-co-NIPAAm/Pd nanocomposite and followed by Ni-P electroless plating. The optimal electroless plating process parameters for fabricating adhesion-enhanced and highly reliable nickel coating were also investigated in the study. Its reliable conductivity and high durability mean it is promising for smart textiles, even via a series of repeated bending and washing tests. In addition, we explain the mechanism by which St-co-NIPAAm/Pd nanocomposites change at a temperature below or beyond the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). To sum up, the developed conductive nylon 6 fabric can lay the groundwork for the subsequent development of smart textiles.