| Author: | Yan, Ka Chi |
| Title: | Fabrication of metallic textiles assisted with polymer brushes |
| Advisors: | Zheng, Zijian (ITC) |
| Degree: | M.Phil. |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Subject: | Textile fibers -- Technological innovations. Textile fabrics -- Technological innovations. Smart materials. Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Institute of Textiles and Clothing |
| Pages: | xxvi, 181 page : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Recent advance in wearable electronics results in high demand for high-performance flexible conductors as interconnects, contacts and electrodes. In particular, metal-coated textiles are very suitable for fulfilling these purposes, thanks to the intrinsic flexibility of textiles as well as high conductivity imparted by the surface-deposited metals. However, the metal adhesion and also the washing durability of these metal-coated textiles remain major challenges. Besides, there are still no practical strategies to fabricate high-performance, durable and washable metallic textiles in bulk. Concerning these challenges, in this research, we study the synthesis of highly durable, washable and solution-processable copper-coated textiles. By simply modifying the textile surface with a layer of poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (PMETAC) brush via a first free radical polymerization, immobilization of catalyst and subsequent electroless copper deposition (ELD) are then carried out to yield a homogeneous and compact copper layer on the textile surface. Here, PMETAC acts as an interfacial layer in-between textiles and the as-deposited copper, therefore providing as-deposited copper with outstanding adhesion to withstand repeated bending and washing cycles. As-synthesized copper-coated cotton fabric has a very promising conductivity, with sheet resistance exhibited from 10{195} to 10{205}{193} ohm/sq, depending on the ELD conditions. As-synthesized Cu-cotton yarns also exhibited a very good conductivity with linear resistance measured as ~1.4 ohm/cm, with significant improvements on the yarn tensile properties due to the reinforcement by the as-deposited copper layer. The whole process is highly compatible with the current textile finishing technologies such as pad-dry-cure and hank dyeing. To reduce the fabrication cost imposed by the expensive catalyst used in ELD, an alternative approach to preparing high-performance and durable metallic textile is also proposed by grafting other polymer brushes instead of PMETAC, such as poly(methacrylic acid sodium salt) (PMANa) or poly(acrylic acid sodium salt) (PAANa) via a first free radical polymerization on the cotton fiber surface. Around 30 % cost reduction is estimated when comparing the fabrication method assisted with PMETAC to that with PMANa. To confirm successful modification on the textile surface, chemistries involved in all polymer brush graftings are confirmed by repeated experiments on silicon wafers, which are then studied by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurement. Surface morphologies and chemical composition of the as-synthesized copper-coated cotton are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. Finally, potential applications of the copper-coated cotton textiles in electronics are demonstrated by connecting the copper-coated textiles with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as well as acting as electrodes in the woven-based textile triboelectric generators. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b28641644.pdf | For All Users | 8.65 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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