Application of PU-sealing into Cu/Ni electroless plated polyester fabrics for e-textiles

Electroless metal plated fabrics are favorable to be used as e-textiles due to the excellent conductivity and peculiar properties of textiles such as flexibility. But, the electrical durability is not enough to be used as e-textiles. Therefore, we applied polyurethane(PU)-sealing (single-sealing vs. double-sealing) onto the electroless metal plated polyester fabrics (Ripstop vs. Mesh) to reinforce the electrical durability. We investigated the changes of electrical properties of the PU-sealed metal plated fabrics after laundering by a multi-meter, examined the surface changes using scanning electron microscope, and checked the metal existence using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. And, we finally proved the possibility of the fabric strips as transmission lines by alternating conventional earphone lines. PU double-sealing showed higher performance on Ripstop polyester fabrics even after being laundered 10 times, which was almost the same as Cu-based typical conductive lines did.