Multifunctional smart garment textile

Abstract

A multifunctional smart garment textile is disclosed herein. It comprises plural conductive yarns, wherein each of the plural conductive yarns includes cotton threads, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and iodine-modified polypyrrole, and wherein the cotton threads, the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the iodine-modified polypyrrole are intermingled with each other in a weight ratio ranging from 1:1:1 to 3:1:1.

Claims

1. A multifunctional smart garment textile, comprising: plural conductive yarns, wherein each of the plural conductive yarns includes cotton threads, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and iodine-modified polypyrrole, and wherein the cotton threads, the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the iodine-modified polypyrrole are intermingled with each other in a weight ratio ranging from 1:1:1 to 3:1:1 and being set on a base fabric; a piezoelectric material in a weight ratio of the plural conductive yarns to the piezoelectric material is about 1:1-4:1 disposed on specific areas of the base fabric for receiving kinetic energy generated by a wearer, the piezoelectric material is poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene), or a copolymer of poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

2. The multifunctional smart garment textile as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base fabric is selected from a group consisting of polyester, modified polyester, nylon, modified nylon, polyurethane (PU), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) and acrylic resin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(1) Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

(2) A multifunctional smart garment textile is disclosed herein. It mainly comprises plural conductive yarns, and each of the plural conductive yarns includes cotton threads, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and iodine-modified polypyrrole (PPy). Preferably, the cotton threads, the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the iodine-modified polypyrrole are intermingled with each other in a weight ratio ranging from 1:1:1 to 3:1:1.

(3) Accordingly, the multifunctional smart garment textile of the present invention used in a smart textile clothing can achieve the effect of keeping warm for a long time. Furthermore, the plural conductive yarns having a dense interweaving structure increase electrical conductivity and ensure the thermal conductivity of the multifunctional smart garment textile.

(4) The multifunctional smart garment textile is further provided with a piezoelectric material to convert kinetic energy into electricity. Preferably, a weight ratio of the plural conductive yarns to the piezoelectric material is about 1:1-4:1. The piezoelectric material can be selected from poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)], or a copolymer of P(VDF-TrFE) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Preferably, the piezoelectric material is the copolymer of P(VDF-TrFE) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes to obtain a high-voltage electrical coefficient of about 50 pm/V.

(5) Since the piezoelectric material can convert kinetic energy into electricity as the human body moves, the plural conductive yarns and the piezoelectric material can be disposed in specific areas of the present invention to provide electrical energy to the wearer. In this way, the kinetic energy generated by wearer's body motion is converted into electricity to charge the multifunctional smart garment textile at any time even in outdoor activities so as to extend the heating time of the multifunctional smart garment textile.

Embodiment One: Test Conductivity

(6) Referring to Table 1, the conductive yarns of the present invention are composed of cotton threads, MWCNTs and PPy with a weight ratio of 1.2:1:1, and its conductivity is 11.48 S/cm. Compared with the conductive yarns of the conventional materials, the present invention has high conductivity.

(7) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Material Conductivity (S/cm) Conductive yarns of the 11.48  present invention Polypyrrole (PPy) 0.70 × 10.sup.−3 multiwalled carbon nanotubes 0.17 (MWCNT) MWCNT-PPy 1.28 iodine-modified PPy 1.30

Embodiment Two: Test the Conversion Efficiency of Piezoelectric Materials

(8) The piezoelectric material used in the present invention is P(VDF-TrFE), or a composite material polymerized by P(VDF-TrFE) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) to convert mechanical kinetic energy into electricity.

(9) Referring to Table 2, both materials have high piezoelectric coefficients. Due to the high density, the composite material polymerized by P(VDF-TrFE) and MWCNTs has high piezoelectricity and mechanical strength. In this way, even if the wearer is unable to charge immediately outdoors, the kinetic energy generated by the physical activities, e.g. walking or running, during the activities can still be transferred to the piezoelectric material and converted into electricity to achieve continuous charging and keep the plural conductive yarns in a heated state. Therefore, the present invention achieves the effect of keeping the wearer's body warm for a long time.

(10) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Piezoelectric coefficient Mechanical (piezoelectricity) (pm/V) strength (GPa) P(VDF-TrFE) 20-30 0.20 P(VDF-TrFE)/MWCNT 50 1.10

(11) Compared with the conventional technique available now, the present invention has the following advantages:

(12) 1. The present invention uses cotton threads, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and iodine-modified polypyrrole which are intermingled with each other to form conductive yarns, so the present invention has better flexibility, temperature controllability and thermal conductivity.

(13) 2. The piezoelectric material with high piezoelectric coefficient of the present invention not only has the effect of electrical heating, but also has the effect of converting mechanical kinetic energy into electricity. When the present invention is applied as a smart textile garment, the kinetic energy generated by the physical activities of the wearer can be converted into electricity to provide charging. Compared with the conventional electrical heating clothing that cannot be charged outdoors, the present invention improves the convenience of use.