A hierarchical structure of l-cysteine/Ag NPs/hydrogel for conductive cotton fabrics with high stability against mechanical deformation

Electrically conductive fabrics have been increasingly attracting interest due to their assembly facility with wearable devices. Herein, we propose a simple strategy for fabricating flexible, anti-fatigue, and conductive cotton fabrics. Our approach is innovative in fabricating hierarchical coating structure, which is composed of l-cysteine binder, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), and a conductive hydrogel coating. By coordinate bonds between the thiol groups and Ag atoms, the cysteine binder effectively enhances the affinity of cotton fibers for the Ag NPs. In-situ deposition of Ag NPs onto the l-cysteine modified cotton fabrics (Cy-Cot) yields electrically conductive fabrics (AgCy-Cot), which have conductivity as high as approximately 10 Ω/sq. Importantly, the top coating of the double-networked, self-healable, and conductive hydrogel provides remarkable electrical stability to the finished cotton fabric (GAgCy-Cot) under stretching, bending, and folding deformation. We believe that the methodology proposed here to fabricate conductive cotton fabric having high durability has potential for smart textile.