A team of scientists from North Carolina State University, Flinders University, and South Korea have developed a new metallic coating treatment for clothing and wearable textiles that has the potential to revolutionize wearable electronics.
The treatment utilizes conductive circuits created by liquid metal particles that can autonomously heal themselves and repel bacteria, and even monitor the wearer's electrocardiogram (ECG) heart signals.
According to the researchers, the breathable electronic textiles can create circuits that maintain conductivity when stretched, and when the coated textiles are pressed with significant force, the particles merge into a conductive path. The technique involves dip-coating fabric into a suspension of liquid metal particles at room temperature.
The coated textiles remain electrically insulating until the oxide that forms on the liquid metal particles is ruptured, allowing the particles to percolate and create conductive circuits. The LM-coated textiles offer effective antimicrobial protection against bacteria and are also flexible and adaptable to different wearers.
This development could lead to new applications in human-machine interfaces, including soft robotics and health monitoring systems.
