Abstract
The poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conductive polymer is well known for its high conductivity and applications in conductive synthetic textiles. However, PEDOT:PSS inks/dispersions are acidic in nature (pH<2.0). This is detrimental for natural fibre based fabrics, like cotton, due to the significant hydrolysis-induced losses in mechanical resistance. Herein, we propose a simple alkaline pre-treatment (mercerization) of cotton fabrics to minimize PEDOT:PSS hydrolysis-induced mechanical fabric degradation. Following this, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were dispersed in PEDOT:PSS solutions to produce conductive, breathable and light-weight mercerized cotton fabrics by spray coating. Due to mercerization, conducting fabrics treated with the PEDOT:PSS dispersions containing 20wt% GNPs exhibited improved Young's modulus and maximum elongation values compared to unmercerized fabrics. Similar GNP dispersions, doped with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) co-solvent, produced the best conductivity levels corresponding to sheet resistance of 25Ω/sq. (~1.6S/cm). Fabrics displayed highly repeatable and stable response to cyclic deformation tests at 5% and 10% strain rates for up to 1000cycles with ~90% viscoelastic recovery levels after cessation of the cycles. Moreover, the fabrics demonstrated strong resistance against fatigue upon repeated folding-unfolding events with pressing weight, rendering them highly suitable for applications in wearable electronics, data storage and transmission, biosensors and actuators, etc.
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