Durable, Highly Electrically Conductive Cotton Fabrics with Healable Superamphiphobicity

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Electrically conductive fabrics with liquid repellency and corrosion resistance are crucial for advanced applications like wearable electronics and biomedical sensors.
• Current materials often lack durability or self-healing capabilities, limiting their practical use in demanding environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate highly electrically conductive and healable superamphiphobic cotton fabrics.
• To impart self-cleaning, corrosive resistance, and electromagnetic interference shielding properties to cotton fabrics.
• To develop a method for restoring superamphiphobicity to enhance fabric durability.

Main Methods:

• Solution-dipping method involving copper (Cu) electroless deposition catalyzed by ammonium tetrachloropalladate ((NH₄)₂PdCl₄).
• Subsequent deposition of a mixture of fluorinated-decyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (F-POSS) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (POTS).
• Testing of electrical conductivity, superamphiphobicity, corrosive resistance, electromagnetic interference shielding, electrothermal heating, and self-healing properties.

Main Results:

• Fabrication of cotton fabrics with excellent electrical conductivity (sheet resistance of ~0.33 Ω·sq⁻¹).
• Achieved superamphiphobicity resulting in self-cleaning and resistance to corrosive acidic and basic solutions.
• Demonstrated effective electromagnetic interference shielding and electrothermal heating capabilities.
• Successfully restored superamphiphobicity through low-voltage (1.0 V) or thermal (135 °C) treatment, indicating excellent durability.

Conclusions:

• The developed cotton fabrics possess multiple functionalities including high conductivity, superamphiphobicity, and self-healing properties.
• The integration of healable superamphiphobicity significantly enhances the durability of functional cotton fabrics.
• These multi-functional fabrics show great potential for applications in wearable displays, biomedical sensors, and protective textiles.