Conductive polyacrylonitrile/graphite textile coatings

Conductive textile coatings are necessary for a broad variety of applications, from textile ECG electrodes to capacitive sensors to transport of energy and data through textile networks. Besides wires which mostly alter the textile haptics in an undesired way and conductive yarns which tend to break or oxidize during washing and wearing, conductive coatings can be used for this purpose. In addition to conductive polymers, such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) or polyaniline (PAni) which are known to be photo-degradable, graphite-filled polymers can be used to create conductive areas on textile fabrics. Most commonly, polyurethane is used for this purpose. Here we report on first tests with graphite-filled polyacrylonitrile which has the advantage of not necessitating toxic precursors, opposite to polyurethane. Generally, such polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/graphite coatings can be applied on textile fabrics using the typical doctor blade technique. Washing tests reveal that while the surface is not significantly disturbed in this process, breaking of the filled polymer may occur, suggesting further experiments with additional silicone or other softeners