Nikkei Electronics Asia -- April 2007
Reports
Electronic Textiles Made More Resilient, Versatile

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Mar 28, 2007 15:13 Nikkei Electronics Asia
A soldier on the battlefield, an athlete on the training track, a patient in the home - and every aspect of their physiology remotely monitored by the clothing they are wearing. The soldier can also remain invisible to enemy radar.

In short, the ability to weave new-technology threads of electronic wizardry into fabrics means that the IQ of textiles is rising sharply. First-generation commercial techniques for producing electronic textiles included impregnating textiles with carbon, incorporating metal filaments. But this new generation of "gifted garments" gets its brains from conductive polymers, a special class of organic polymers capable of conducting electricity.

This functionality is fragile, however; these garments are repeatedly stretched and flexed, particularly during wear and machine washing, and the fine polymer filaments can break, cutting the vital circuits.

Molecular Templating
Now scientists at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the University of Wollongong (UOW) have worked together to overcome these limitations. They have done this by using a novel molecular templating process for the preparation of electroconductive textiles, which allows for the more seamless integration of electronic functionality. This technique enables a degree of control on the level of conductivity introduced, and provides improved stability to the inherently conductive polymers (ICP) incorporated into the textile.
 
The process utilizes conventional ICPs which are polymerized in the presence of a polymeric molecular template. The template stabilizes the conducting polymer and binds the systems to the fibers in the textile structure.

"Our patented technology enables us to seamlessly integrate electrical functionality into textiles," said Peter Waters, CSIRO project leader, Electro-Conductive Textiles Group. "Working with the University of Wollongong's Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, we have jointly developed this molecular templating technology, which overcomes a lot of the problems associated with the use of electro-conductive polymers on textiles."

The new-generation CSIRO/UOW process results in a firm bond between the conducting polymer and the fabric with the electronic circuitry tightly integrated into the fabric, making it very resilient.

Waters contends that the embedded electronic functionality is more durable and more stable, and is even capable of surviving the harsh environment of the domestic washing machine.

Unlimited Applications
Practical applications for this smart textile technology are almost limitless. Textiles produced using the new process have the potential to incorporate an array of communication devices, and to act as sensors for temperature, strain, pressure, humidity, and chemical biosensing.

For soldiers in the field wearing such a "smart garment", the weight they carry is significantly reduced as much of their communications technology is integrated into their uniform. That same intelligent textile technology can also be used to provide warmth in cold weather, and to monitor constantly their physiology, the air they breathe - and even to render them invisible to radar.

Garments and other products manufactured from these textiles could, however, make daily life easier, healthier, safer and more comfortable for people in all walks of life. They could also be used to provide a barrier to electromagnetic radiation, as anti-static treatments, and for heating and cooling.

by Neil Munro, Sydney