Development of Thermoplastic Bi-Component Electrodes for Triboelectric Impact Detection in Smart Textile Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Smart textiles require materials balancing traditional textile properties with electronic functionality.
• Developing flexible, conductive composites is crucial for integrating electronics into textiles for wearable applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a flexible, electrically conductive composite material for sensor electrodes using a bi-component extrusion process.
• To optimize the composite composition for conductivity, flexibility, and processability in a polypropylene matrix.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a composite core using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), polypropylene (PP), and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) via bi-component extrusion.
• Optimization of MWCNT (2.5-10 wt.%) and TPE (0-50 wt.%) content within the PP matrix.
• Lamination of the optimized composite filament (5 wt.% MWCNT/PP/25 wt.% TPE core with TPE sheath) into a textile triboelectric sensor.

Main Results:

• Significant decrease in electrical resistivity observed between 2.5 and 5 wt.% MWCNT, with resistivity ranging from 7.64 ± 4.03 x 10^4 to 1.15 ± 0.10 x 10^-1 Ω·m.
• Incorporating 25 wt.% TPE enhanced composite flexibility without significantly compromising mechanical properties or processability.
• The developed triboelectric sensor demonstrated a peak-to-peak output voltage of approximately 5 V per filament and 15 V with five filaments under a 100 N force.

Conclusions:

• An innovative flexible conductive composite material was successfully developed for smart textile applications.
• The composite material is suitable for fabricating triboelectric sensor electrodes with potential for impact detection, fall monitoring, and motion tracking.
• The study highlights the successful integration of advanced materials and processing techniques for next-generation wearable technology.