Effect of multiscale hybrid fillers on the electrical conductivity of silicone-based conductive textiles

Abstract

Synergistic combinations of the microsized copper filler and nanosized conductive fillers were applied to silicone-based conductive textile for improvement of electrical conductivity. Conductive composite textiles (CCTs) were manufactured through screen-printing and subsequent thermal curing of polydimethylsiloxane containing hybrid fillers. We examined changes in the electrical properties of the CCTs according to the type and concentration of nanosized fillers including silver nanowires, graphene nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes. It was found that upon the addition of 0.5 wt% graphene, the electrical resistance was improved by 27% compared to that of the original CCT owing to the formation of an excellent conductive network.

Keywords:

• Conductive composite textiles
• electrical conductivity
• hybrid filler
• silicone polymer
• smart textile

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2018R1A5A1024127 and 2021R1F1A1064100).