Electrically conductive polyester/cotton fabrics to develop technical textiles for innovative applications

摘要

The in-situ polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy) on PC blend fabrics was successfully carried out by a 2 step process. The surface resistivity of the samples was obtained in the range of 50-2500 fl/square. The conductivity range is suitable for many technical textile applications. The SEM exhibited complete coating of fibers and inter-yarn spaces by the polymer. The durability studies revealed that the aqueous washing resulted in remarkable loss in conductivity. Whereas, dry cleaning was comparatively less severe as conductivity loss was relatively negligible. Further research needs to be focused on improvement of PPy coated textiles towards aqueous washing in order to expand its scope in application areas that demand durability.