Printable nanowire-based materials for the seamless integration of electronic functionality into textiles

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Whether through clothing, furniture, bedding or carpets, we are in contact with textiles the vast majority of our day. Integrating functionality such as sensing or energy generation into these textiles is a growing, revolutionary area. So called e-textiles typically involve devices on rigid substrates attached to fabric along with external cabling, which is clearly cumbersome, uncomfortable and does not retain the look or characteristics of textiles. In this research program, new materials and deposition processes will be researched that can seamlessly impart electronic functionality into textiles. The materials and devices will otherwise maintain as much of the original characteristics of a textile as possible such as flexibility, stretchability, breathability, softness, colour, and pattern. A preferred alternative to external wiring is conductive inks that can be printed on fabric. However, available inks are stiff, breakdown with bending and stretching, and mask the colour and pattern of the textile underneath. In this research, a nanomaterial receiving growing world-wide attention - silver nanowires - which are structures shaped as elongated rods, will be tested as an alternative to the spherical and flake-shaped silver nanoparticles used in commercial inks. The much longer reach of nanowires will allow conductive paths to remain in better contact under bending and stretching. Their elongated shape will also allow for conductivity to be achieved with an open mesh rather than continuous film. This will dramatically lower the amount of metal required, leading to lower-weight, more mechanically flexible and, at lower conductivities, even optically transparent conductive coatings and devices. The open spaces in the mesh should also permit transfer printing instead of currently used lamination processes, which will rid the need for a plastic layer between the ink and fabric. Semiconductor nanowires will also be researched as a printable, flexible semiconducting material for textiles as an alternative to semiconductor devices on rigid substrates and unstable organic materials. Using these materials, devices including invisible antennas for communication, transparent touchsensors, and toxic gas sensors, will be seamlessly integrated into fabrics. E-textiles have a wide and growing range of applications in areas such as health monitoring, fitness tracking, military, automotive and the internet of things. As such, many industrial sectors of importance to Canada could exploit e-textile technologies and this program will create knowledge, innovation and technical experts in this growing field. Students will receive hands-on training in materials and device design, fabrication and testing that is applicable to many fields. The conductive and semiconducting inks for textiles to be developed in this research which will be printable, optically transparent, light-weight and reliably stretchable and bendable will be key enablers for e-textile technology.