A novel method for the production of conductive ring spun yarn

To take the advantages of spun yarns such as porosity, softness, bending as well as usability as yarn/fabric forms, this study worked on an alternative conductive yarn production method. Different from widely used application methods, a conductive nanosuspension was applied to viscose, cotton and polyester open fibre bundles with different feeding amounts during the ring spinning with a specially developed apparatus. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) synthesized with a single step process instead of two-step processes was used to impart conductivity. Following to yarn production, winding, knitting and washing processes were realized to evaluate the changes in yarn conductivity and the usability of the yarns in the post-spinning processes. In addition to tensile properties of the yarns and air permeability of the fabrics, electrical resistance and environmental impact of the method was compared with immersion and drying process. The results indicated that alternative method allows the production of conductive (lower resistance than 100 kΩ) but also strong, flexible, washable and breathable electronic textile products with an environmentally friendly process. There has been no effort, as yet, to get conductivity in this manner. Therefore, the developed method can be considered to be a new application in the functional yarn production field. The produced conductive yarns can be converted into fabric form by weaving, knitting and embroidery. Therefore, they can also be seen as an ideal as the platforms for future wearable electronics.