An Electrospinning-Electroplating Process to Embed Electronics into Fabrics for E-textiles and Wearables

市场对可穿戴电子产品和智能纺织品的需求正在迅速增长，然而，将先进的电子电路集成到织物中仍然面临技术挑战。这项拨款旨在探索一种两步连续印刷方法，用于在织物上直接印刷铜导体。静电纺丝工艺在织物上应用静电电路布局，电镀工艺涂覆并焊接电路作为标准表面安装电子元件。该技术有望将基于微处理器的电路和智能传感器集成到服装中，用于开发可穿戴医疗设备，用于持续监测患者的健康状况，用于携带更多小工具的智能士兵背心，以及用于监测娱乐活动的智能纺织品。电子纺织品和可穿戴设备的这些进步极大地影响了美国的经济、健康和安全。这项研究是一项跨学科的努力，它利用了纳米技术和电化学领域的最新进展。此外，该项目计划还包括为代表性不足的女大学生、研究生和高中生开展教育和研究活动。为了在织物上集成先进的电子元件，需要高导电材料的高印刷分辨率。两步制造工艺包括在大多数织物上高分辨率直写电纺导电聚合物纳米纤维，然后进行析氢辅助电镀铜以使纳米纤维金属化并将其焊接到织物表面。本研究旨在探讨电纺聚合物层的结构对电镀铜质量的影响。此外，该项目的一个重要目标是控制电镀过程，以获得铜纳米结构，用于导电和增强印刷层与织物基材的附着。为了解决集成这两种工艺的知识差距，进行了析氢辅助电镀的模拟和纳米纤维上的铜印刷的实验研究。该研究计划包括研究可控静电纺丝工艺和局部电镀，用于设计印刷喷嘴系统，该系统可用于在织物上图案化电路布局和低温焊接标准电子元件。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The market need for wearable electronics and smart textiles is growing rapidly, however, the integration of advanced electronic circuits to fabrics still faces technological challenges. This grant aims to explore a two-step sequential printing method for direct printing of copper conductors on fabrics. An electrospinning process applies a nanofiber circuit layout on the fabric and an electroplating process coats and solders the circuit as a standard surface-mount electronic component. The proposed technique is promising for the integration of microprocessor-based circuits and smart sensors to garments for developing wearable medical devices for continuous health monitoring of patients, smart soldier vests for carrying more gadgets, and smart textiles for monitoring recreational activities. These advances in e-textiles and wearables greatly impacts the U.S. economy, health and security. This research is a cross-disciplinary effort, which leverages recent advancements within the fields of nanotechnology and electrochemistry. Also, the project plan includes educational and research activities for underrepresented and female undergraduate and graduate students and high school students.High printing resolution of a highly conductive material is needed for the integration of advanced electronic components on fabrics. The two-step manufacturing process includes high resolution direct-writing of electrospun conductive polymer nanofibers on most fabrics followed by hydrogen evolution-assisted electroplating of copper to metalize the nanofibers and weld them to the fabric surface. This research aims to study the impact of the structure of the electrospun polymer layer on the quality of the grown electroplated copper. Also, an important objective of the project is controlling the electroplating process to obtain copper nanostructures for conduction and enhanced attachment of the printed layer to the fabric substrate. Both simulation of the hydrogen evolution-assisted electroplating and experimental studies of copper printing on nanofibers is conducted to address the knowledge gap on integrating the two processes. The research plan includes studying the controlled electrospinning process and localized electroplating for the design of a printing nozzle system that can be used for both patterning a circuit layout on fabrics and soldering standard electronic components at low temperatures.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.