Characteristics of Electrical Heating and Sensing Properties for CNTs/GNs Polyester-Knitted Fabrics Based on Network Structure

Flexible and multifunctional textile-based electronics have been promising for wearable devices. However, integrating excellent conductivity into textiles without sacrificing their fundamental flexibility and breathability remains challenging. In this work, the interconnected conductive networks are created with a knitted polyester fabric. The knitted fabric is spray coated with one-dimensional carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional graphene nanosheets to integrate unique metallic conductivity. The change in resistance of interconnected loops during stretching, their behavior, and electrical properties were analyzed. The resultant electrically conductive CNTs/GNs-knitted fabric offers an outstanding electrical conductivity of 36.5 S m(-1) with superior Joule heating performance up to 282 degrees C at a supply voltage of 10 V. Moreover, the stitch structure of the fabric was simulated as a circuit model consisting of the course and wale yarn and their contact resistance. The simulated results agreed with the experimental data, and the significant trends of both results were consistent. The multifunctional, electrically conductive, and thermally stable CNTs/GNs-knitted fabric presented in this work is promising for potential applications in textile-based wearable devices.