New carbon nanotube textiles developed for flexible electronics

Scientists have developed new thin carbon nanotube (CNT) textiles that could offer considerable advances in the field of flexible electronics.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created CNT textiles that exhibit high electrical conductivity, as well as being around fifty times tougher than the copper films currently used in electronics.

This was achieved by depositing a catalyst on a silicon oxide substrate, with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes synthesised via chemical vapour deposition in parallel lines inspired by a brick-and-mortar design motif.

The resulting textile offers simple and flexible encapsulation in an elastomer matrix, and could be used in smart textiles, and flexible devices, with their high toughness meaning they could replace thin metal films to enhance device reliability.

Sameh Tawfick, an assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering at Illinois, said: "The structural robustness of thin metal films has significant importance for the reliable operation of smart skin and flexible electronics, including biological and structural health monitoring sensors."

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