Demonstration of durable electronic textiles via mechanically assisted highly adhesive printing of carbon nanotube-polymer composites on commercial fabrics

Abstract

We demonstrate the highly adhesive and uniform printing of carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer composites (CPCs) on diverse commercial fabrics for durable electronic textiles. The mechanically assisted printing (MAP) technique proposed in this work enables the uniform and faithful printing of conductive CPCs on fabrics with excellent adhesion against fabric deformation and stretching. We have systematically studied that the printability and conductivity of CPCs can be optimized by controlling the mixture ratio of the CNTs in an adequate polymer. We also present that various practical patterning methods, such as masked printing and pattern molding, can be applied to the MAP of specifically patterned CPCs to fabricate flexible electronic circuits that operate durably on fabrics. Many diverse industrial applications may benefit from this work, including but not limited to lightweight flexible electronics and sensors, wearable devices and gears, and functional textiles.