Enhancing Electrical Conductivity Attributes of Knitted Polyester Fabrics Using ZnO Nano-particles

Abstract

This work was adopted to enhance the electrical conductivity of knitted polyester fabrics by incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticle (NPs) into the fibre vicinity. Five structures of PIQUE knitted polyester fabric of variable loop length were treated with ZnO NPs using exhaustion technique. The treated fabrics were sewn using two types of stitches; namely three thread overedge (504) and five thread full overedge (516). The comfort attributes of the treated fabrics; Viz. electrical conductivity, air permeability, and water permeability were assessed. Physico-mechanical properties of the different treated and untreated fabrics were also evaluated. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to trace the amounts of Zn NPs incorporated onto the different treated structures. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy/elemental mapping were used to prove the incorporation and distribution of ZnO NPs onto the treated polyester fabrics. The treated polyester knitted fabrics showed enhanced electrical conductivity with improved comfort properties without adverse effect on their performance and appearance attributes. No change in the main functional groups of knitted polyester was detected using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.