Wet chemical method for highly flexible and conductive fabrics for smart textile applications

This study reports the preparation of highly flexible and conductive fabrics containing zinc oxide (ZnO), silver nanowires (AgNW) and graphene flakes (GFs) by simple vacuum filtration. The ZnO particles prepared with sol-gel method in large sizes with flower-like shape were used as filler and became the first layer to be coated on the fabric surface. These particles covered the gaps at the junction of the fabric fibers, providing a suitable area for the deposition of subsequent layers of AgNW and GFs. The structural, morphological and conductivity properties of the prepared conductive fabric were investigated by XRD, optical and electron microscopy as well as four-point probe conductivity measurement. The optical images showed that a continuous conductive network was obtained that allowed electron transport across the fabric surface. The fabric was found to have a remarkably low sheet resistance of an average of 1.5 omega/sq. This result displays that promising candidates suitable for conductive textile applications can be prepared by simple vacuum filtration method.