The authors have learned to print electronic textiles at room temperature and in normal atmospheric conditions.
Inkjet printing is a rapidly developing newtechnology, it is used in flexible electronics for printing film in the display of a mobile phone, as well as other devices. We believe that this printing method also holds promise for creating electronic textiles in wearable devices.
Jesse S. Jur, North Carolina Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science
In their work, the authors used an inkjetFUJIFILM Dimatix printer: with it they made a durable and flexible material to create. One of the main issues during production was finding the right composition of materials: it was necessary that liquid ink did not seep through the porous surface of textile materials and did not lose its ability to conduct electricity.
As a result, the authors of the layers of electrically conductivesilver ink, like a sandwich, around two layers of liquid materials: they acted as insulators. A polyester fabric was placed on top of the sandwich layers. After they printed layers of silver ink and insulating materials, the authors began observing the behavior of the material with a microscope.
Researchers have found that the chemical propertiesinsulating materials as well as textile threads are important: they provide electrical conductivity for liquid silver ink, and also prevent them from penetrating the porous fabric.
Electronic textiles were bent during testing100 times: it has not lost its electrical characteristics. In future work, the authors plan to improve the electrical characteristics of the materials, as well as increase the breathability of the material.
Eventually, they want to use the printing method to create electronic textiles that can be used in wearable electronics, such as heart rate tracking.
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