Ionofibres, or ionically conductive fibres, have been found to achieve higher flexibility, durability and match the type of conduction our body uses. In the future they may be used for such items as textile batteries, textile displays and textile muscles, according to researchers.
The project: The findings, which have been published in Advanced Materials Technologies, are from a project carried out by doctoral student Claude Huniade at the University of Borås, Sweden. It is a track within a larger project, Weafing, the goal of which is to develop novel, unprecedented garments for haptic stimulation comprising flexible and wearable textile actuators and sensors.
The goal of Huniade's project is to produce conductive yarns without conductive metals. It is about producing electrically conductive textile fibres, and ultimately yarns, by coating non-metals sustainably on commercial yarns.
The hurdles: The biggest challenge is in the balance between keeping the textile properties and adding the conductive feature. Currently, the uniqueness of his research is in the strategies employed when coating. These strategies expand to the processes and the materials used.
The process: One of the tracks Huniade is investigating is a new kind of material used as a textile coating—ionic liquids in combination with commercial textile fibers. Just like salt water, they conduct electricity, but without water. Ionic liquid is a more stable electrolyte than salt water as nothing evaporates.
The explanation:
The processable aspect is an important requirement since textile manufacturing can be harsh on textile fibers, especially when upscaling their use. The fibers can also be manufactured into woven or knitted without damaging them mechanically while retaining their conductivity. Surprisingly, they were even smoother to process into fabrics than the commercial yarns they are made from.
— Claude Huniade
Doctoral student
University of Borås
The ionofibres: Ionofibres could be used as sensors since ionic liquids are sensible to their environment. For example, humidity change can be sensed by the ionofibres, but they can also sense any stretch or pressure they are subjected to.
- Ionofibres could truly shine when they are combined with other materials or devices that require electrolytes. Ionofibres enable certain phenomena currently limited to happen in liquids to be feasible in air in a lightweight fashion. The applications are multiple and unique, for example for textile batteries, textile displays or textile muscles.
- More research is needed to combine the ionofibres with other functional fibres to produce the unique textile devices.
- In comparison to electronically conductive fibres, ionofibres are different in how they conduct electricity. They are less conductive, but they bring other properties that electronically conductive fibres often lack.
- Ionofibres achieve higher flexibility, durability and match the type of conduction that our body uses. They actually match better than electronically conductive fibers with how electricity is present in nature.
