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Updated: Oct 13, 2025
A Simple and Scalable Fabrication Method for Organic Electronic Devices on Textiles
Published on: March 13, 2017
Stretchable Conductive Fabric Enabled By Surface Functionalization of Commercial Knitted Cloth
Haojun Liu1, Xianmei Zhong2, Xin He1
1State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials &Devices, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Center of Special Optical Fiber Materials and Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road No. 381, Guangzhou 510640, Tianhe District, P. R. China.
Researchers developed a highly conductive and stretchable fabric for wearable electronics. This innovative textile offers comfort, durability, and safety for on-skin applications like health monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Textile Engineering
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Textile-based stretchable electronics are crucial for wearable applications due to their comfort and compliance.
- Stretchable conductive textiles are essential components for these advanced electronic devices.
- Developing high-performance, comfortable, and safe conductive fabrics remains a key challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple fabrication method for stretchable conductive fabric.
- To evaluate the conductivity, mechanical properties, and durability of the fabricated fabric.
- To assess the biocompatibility and antibacterial properties for on-skin applications.
Main Methods:
- Coating commercial knitted cloth with poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene) (SBS) via dip-coating.
- Loading silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto the fabric through sequential absorption and in situ reduction.
- Characterizing conductivity, maximal strain at break, permeability, and durability (stretching, washing, rubbing).
- Evaluating cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity.
Main Results:
- Achieved high conductivity of ~800 S/m.
- Demonstrated a maximal strain at break exceeding 540%.
- Fabric exhibited excellent permeability, robust endurance to stretching, washing, and mechanical stress.
- Confirmed low cytotoxicity and antibacterial properties, ensuring safety for skin contact.
Conclusions:
- A simple and effective method for fabricating highly conductive and stretchable fabric was established.
- The developed fabric demonstrates superior mechanical properties, durability, and biocompatibility.
- This versatile conductive fabric holds significant promise for various on-skin wearable electronic applications, including health monitoring and therapy.
