The strategic use of hyperbranched polyamidoamine through chemical bonding in fabricating stable, highly conductive Ag-plated aramid fiber

High-performance conductive aramid fibers (PPTA) can be applied in many fields, while the poor interface compatibility between aramid fiber and conductive element restricted their practical applications. Herein, PPTAbased conductive fiber were fabricated by firstly functionalizing the PPTA surface to covalently attach some hyperbranched polyamidoamine (HPAMAM), then coating the crosslinked HPAMAM to constructing cross-linked HPAMAM interface. The stable cross-linked HPAMAM interface was constructed creatively by chemical method and it strongly strengthened interfacial bonding between Ag plated layer and PPTA. Meanwhile, the excellent mechanical property of PPTA was maintained, as the tensile strength of Ag-plated PPTA only had lowed 0.25 cN/ dT compared to the original PPTA. The electrical resistance of prepared Ag-plated PPTA exhibited a very low value of 0.043 L2/cm. Moreover, the silver-plated PPTA presented high washing fastness that the resistance merely increased from 0.043 to 0.33 L2/cm after 6 cycles of washing. This research demonstrates a novelty and efficient path to fabricate high performance conductive aramid fiber, which perfectly retained mechanical properties of the fibers.