Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Measurement Institute, have developed a way to print silver directly onto fibres. This new technique could make integrating electronics into all types of clothing simple and practical. This has many potential applications in sports, health, medicine, consumer electronics and fashion.
Most current plans for wearable electronics require weaving conductive materials into fabrics, which offer limited flexibility and can only be achieved when integrated into the design of the clothing from the start. NPL’s technique could allow lightweight circuits to be printed directly onto complete garments.
Silver coated fibres created using this technique are flexible and stretchable, meaning circuits can be easily printed onto many different types of fabric, including wool which is knitted in tight loops.
The technique involves chemically bonding a nano-silver layer onto individual fibres to a thickness of 20 nm. The conductive silver layer fully encapsulates fibres and has good adhesion and excellent conductivity……..
http://www.nanomagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2261:printing-nanosilver-onto-fibres-could-pave-the-way-for-flexible-wearable-electronics&catid=38:nano-news&Itemid=159