In general, conductive fibers have excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, shielding and absorbing electromagnetic waves and other functions, especially in fields with antistatic requirements. Alfa Chemistry offers various types of conductive fiber solutions.
Classification
According to the conductive components, conductive fibers mainly include the following types:
- Metal fibers have good electrical conductivity, heat resistance and chemical corrosion resistance, which can be mixed into conventional textile materials to make antistatic fabrics. But they have low cohesion, poor spinnability, and are expensive when made into high-fineness fibers.
- Carbon fibers have good electrical conductivity, heat resistance and chemical resistance. While they have high modulus, lack of toughness, inability to bend, and no heat shrinkage capability, resulting in a limited range of applications.
- Composite conductive fibers are obtained by compounding conventional fiber materials with conductive particles, such as carbon black and conductive metal compounds. Among them, the conductive metal compounds include Cu, Ag, Ni and Cd sulfide, iodide or oxide. Compared with other types, they have better fiber-forming properties and long-lasting conductivity.
- Polymer materials are generally considered to be insulators until the successful development of polyacetylene conductive materials in the 1970s. Organic conductive fibers are mainly made of conductive polymers, which include polyacetylene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, etc. In addition, the adsorption of conductive polymers on the surface of ordinary fibers by chemical reactions is also an effective method to obtain organic conductive fibers.
Application and Research
- Antistatic Application
Static charges can lead to serious consequences, such as handling problems during textile processing, damage to sensitive electronic equipment, and ignition of flammable vapors and dusts in some environments. Conductive fiber are functional fibers with electron conduction as the mechanism, and eliminates static electricity through electron conduction and corona discharge. The use of conductive fibers to prevent the generation and harm of static electricity has a wide range of environmental adaptability. - Anti-Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic shielding effects use conductive materials with low resistivity to reflect and guide electromagnetic currents, thereby reducing the radiation effect of the original electromagnetic field. For example, in order to improve the electrical conductivity, Jianhan Hong et al. used online polymerization coating technology to continuously prepare conductive polyparaxylylenediamine/polyaniline (PPTA/PANI) composite yarns to expand the application of PPTA fiber in the field of electromagnetic shielding. [1]
Electromagnetic SE for (a) PPTA and (b) PPTA/PANI yarn-reinforced composites.
- Sensor Application
The sensor textiles made of flexible conductive fibers using the principle of electronic sensors have the advantages of light and easy to carry. LingyiLan et al. developed multifunctional fibers with high stretchability and electrical conductivity. The prepared multifunctional fibers have various sensing properties and can be fabricated into flexible electrochemical sensors and ultrasensitive pressure sensors. In addition, the researchers fabricated a fiber-like stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting raindrop energy from the environment. [2]
The fabrication process for stretchable and conductive AuCNS@MCP fiber.
References
- Jianhan Hong, et al. Journal of Industrial Textiles, 2019, 51(3), 435-454.
- Lingyi Lan, et al. Nano Energy, 2021, 84, 105954.
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