Machine-Washable PEDOT:PSS Dyed Silk Yarns for Electronic Textiles

TLDR

Durable, electrically conducting yarns are a critical component of electronic textiles (e-textiles). The study aims to produce yarns with exceptional wear and wash resistance by dyeing Bombyx mori silk with a PEDOT:PSS conjugated polymer–polyelectrolyte complex. The authors achieve this through a robust, scalable dyeing process that imparts the polymer to the silk fibers. The resulting yarns have a ~2 GPa Young's modulus, ~14 S cm⁻¹ conductivity over 40 m, retain performance under bending, mechanical wear, machine washing, and dry cleaning, and support a 26‑leg thermoelectric module embroidered onto wool.

Abstract

Durable, electrically conducting yarns are a critical component of electronic textiles (e-textiles). Here, such yarns with exceptional wear and wash resistance are realized through dyeing silk from the silkworm Bombyx mori with the conjugated polymer:polyelectrolyte complex PEDOT:PSS. A high Young's modulus of approximately 2 GPa combined with a robust and scalable dyeing process results in up to 40 m long yarns that maintain their bulk electrical conductivity of approximately 14 S cm–1 when experiencing repeated bending stress as well as mechanical wear during sewing. Moreover, a high degree of ambient stability is paired with the ability to withstand both machine washing and dry cleaning. For the potential use for e-textile applications to be illustrated, an in-plane thermoelectric module that comprises 26 p-type legs is demonstrated by embroidery of dyed silk yarns onto a piece of felted wool fabric.