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Updated: May 20, 2026

A Simple and Scalable Fabrication Method for Organic Electronic Devices on Textiles
Published on: March 13, 2017
Conformal graphene coatings on ordinary fabrics for wearable electronic devices
Zibo Chen1,2, Yunfa Si1,2, Xiaobin Liao3
1Sanya Science and Education Innovation Park of Wuhan University of Technology, Sanya, China.
Abstract:
Dip-coating ordinary fabrics with conductive macromolecules holds promise for mass-production of next-generation wearable electronics but faces an interaction dilemma in high-entangled fabrics: weak interactions for uniform penetration versus strong for stable coating. Herein, we present a temporal decoupling strategy, designing stage-specific interaction strengths to achieve uniform graphene oxide penetration and robust reduced graphene oxide adhesion. Using the triphilic surfactant Triton X-100 as a representative system, this strategy enables the fabrication of fabrics with conductivity (283.1 S m-1) and comprehensive wearability (hydrophilicity, air permeability, washability, bacteriostasis, and biocompatibility) over 200-meter roll. This combination of conductivity and production scale outperforms current competitors by over 100-fold, with over 10-time-lower cost (0.4 US$ m-2). This strategy is universally applicable to various ordinary fabrics and enables multifunctional applications, including electromagnetic interference shielding and Joule heating. Our work offers a scalable, universal and low-cost methodology for fabric-based wearable electronics with immediate potential for industrial adoption.

