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Conducting Polymers and Fibres
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Conducting Polymers and Fibres

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 December 2021) | Viewed by 8306

Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Kaynak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Interests: conducting polymers and fibers; polymer actuators; soft robots; mechanical and electrical properties
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia
Interests: 3D printing; 4D printing; soft actuators; robotic materials; soft machines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conducting polymers can be chemically or electrochemically sythesized to possess a wide range of electroactive and electrical properties. They can also be made by incorporation of conductive fillers into polymer matrices.

Although conducting polymers have been extensively researched over the past three decades, the interest in these materials did not seem to have diminished. Recent developments in the 3D printing techniques opened new avenues of research via integration of conducting polymers into 3D printed structures to produce polymeric actuators and sensors.

In this Issue we invite contributions from the latest research and innovations in conducting polymers and fibers. Submissions on topics such as 3D printed conducting polymer actuators and sensors, artificial muscles, organic solar cells, biosensors, light emitting diodes,  implementations of electroactive devices in microfluidics, latest applications in intelligent textiles and wearable sensors, energy related functions, electromagnetic properties of conducting polymer composites, degradation and stability, and any article representing new advances in the field are welcome.

Assoc. Prof. Akif Kaynak
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • conducting polymers and fibers
  • functional textiles
  • wearable sensors
  • actuators
  • 3D printing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3404 KiB  
Article
Innovative Biochar-Based Composite Fibres from Recycled Material
by Sandra Lepak-Kuc, Mateusz Kiciński, Przemyslaw P. Michalski, Krystian Pavlov, Mauro Giorcelli, Mattia Bartoli and Malgorzata Jakubowska
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5304; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14185304 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2194
Abstract
Carbon materials are becoming crucial in several industrial sectors. The drawbacks of these materials include their high cost and oil-based essence. In recent years, recycled materials have become possible alternative sources of carbon with several advantages. Firstly, the production of this alternative source [...] Read more.
Carbon materials are becoming crucial in several industrial sectors. The drawbacks of these materials include their high cost and oil-based essence. In recent years, recycled materials have become possible alternative sources of carbon with several advantages. Firstly, the production of this alternative source of carbon may help to reduce biomass disposal, and secondly, it contributes to CO2 sequestration. The use of carbon derived from recycled materials by a pyrolysis treatment is called biochar. Here, we present composite materials based on different biochar filler contents dispersed in several thermoplastic polymer matrixes. Electrical conductivity and tensile break strength were investigated together with the material characterisation by DTA/TGA, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging. Materials with good flexibility and electrical conductivity were obtained. The local ordering in composites resembles both biochar and polymer ordering. The similarity between biochar and carbon nanotubes’ (CNTs) XRD patterns may be observed. As biochar is highly cost-effective, the proposed composites could become a valid substitute for CNT composites in various applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conducting Polymers and Fibres)
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19 pages, 99742 KiB  
Article
Electrical Conductivity of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Plastic with Nanomodified Matrix for Damage Diagnostic
by Stanislav Stankevich, Olga Bulderberga, Sergejs Tarasovs, Daiva Zeleniakiene, Maria Omastova and Andrey Aniskevich
Materials 2021, 14(16), 4485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14164485 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2393
Abstract
The electrical conductivity of glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) with epoxy matrix modified by multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was studied. The electrical conductivity of nanomodified lamina and multi-layered GFRP was investigated on several levels using a structural approach. Components of the electrical conductivity tensor [...] Read more.
The electrical conductivity of glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) with epoxy matrix modified by multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was studied. The electrical conductivity of nanomodified lamina and multi-layered GFRP was investigated on several levels using a structural approach. Components of the electrical conductivity tensor for unidirectional-reinforced monolayer were calculated similarly as in micromechanics using the conductivity of the nanomodified matrix. The electrical conductivity of multilayer composite was calculated using laminate theory and compared with values measured experimentally for various fiber orientation angles. Calculated and experimental data were in good agreement. The voltage distribution measured throughout the laminate allowed detecting the damage in its volume. The electrode network located on the laminate surface could determine the location, quantification, and geometry of the damage in the GFRP lamina modified with MWCNT. Experimental and calculated electrical resistance data for GFRP double-cantilever beam specimens were investigated in Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness test. Results demonstrate that electrical resistance could be successfully used for the diagnostic of the crack propagation during interlaminar fracture of the MWCNT-modified GFRP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conducting Polymers and Fibres)
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16 pages, 3973 KiB  
Article
Electrothermal Modeling and Analysis of Polypyrrole-Coated Wearable E-Textiles
by Akif Kaynak, Ali Zolfagharian, Toby Featherby, Mahdi Bodaghi, M. A. Parvez Mahmud and Abbas Z Kouzani
Materials 2021, 14(3), 550; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14030550 - 24 Jan 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2753
Abstract
The inhomogeneity of the resistance of conducting polypyrrole-coated nylon–Lycra and polyester (PET) fabrics and its effects on surface temperature were investigated through a systematic experimental and numerical work including the optimization of coating conditions to determine the lowest resistivity conductive fabrics and establish [...] Read more.
The inhomogeneity of the resistance of conducting polypyrrole-coated nylon–Lycra and polyester (PET) fabrics and its effects on surface temperature were investigated through a systematic experimental and numerical work including the optimization of coating conditions to determine the lowest resistivity conductive fabrics and establish a correlation between the fabrication conditions and the efficiency and uniformity of Joule heating in conductive textiles. For this purpose, the effects of plasma pre-treatment and molar concentration analysis of the dopant anthraquinone sulfonic acid (AQSA), oxidant ferric chloride, and monomer pyrrole was carried out to establish the conditions to determine the sample with the lowest electrical resistance for generating heat and model the experiments using the finite element modeling (FEM). Both PET and nylon-Lycra underwent atmospheric plasma treatment to functionalize the fabric surface to improve the binding of the polymer and obtain coatings with reduced resistance. Both fabrics were compared in terms of average electrical resistance for both plasma treated and untreated samples. The plasma treatment induced deep black coatings with lower resistance. Then, heat-generating experiments were conducted on the polypyrrole (PPy) coated fabrics with the lowest resistance using a variable power supply to study the distribution and maximum value of the temperature. The joule heating model was developed to predict the heating of the conductive fabrics via finite element analysis. The model was based on the measured electrical resistance at different zones of the coated fabrics. It was shown that, when the fabric was backed with neoprene insulation, it would heat up quicker and more evenly. The average electrical resistance of the PPy-PET sample used was 190 Ω, and a maximum temperature reading of 43 °C was recorded. The model results exhibited good agreement with thermal camera data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conducting Polymers and Fibres)
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