Conductive fibres elements

A fibre may be defined as a structure that is fine, flexible and exhibits a high length-to-width ratio. A conductive fibre can be defined as an electrically conductive element having the structure of a fibre. Thus, a metal nail and thick copper wire are electrically conductive but not fibres, as they are neither fine nor flexible. In contrast, for the present purposes, a fine copper wire and silver-coated polymer fibre can both be categorized as conductive fibres. 

A patent from 1982 describes a treatment of acrylic and modacrylic fibres to produce a copper sulphide element that confers electrical conductivity (Gomibuchi et al., 1982). A patent from 1980 describes the use of copper iodide to produce an electrically conductive fibre without substantial colour change (Tanaka and Tsunawaki, 1981). 

Electrically conducting fibres can be used for anti-static, anti-microbial, anti-odour, shielding and other appUcations. In electronic textiles, the conducting elements can provide power, deliver input and output signals or act as a transducer. 

The initial studies described above were conducted on Raman microspectrometers on extracted human teeth. In order to translate this research from the laboratory bench to the dental chair side, the next step it is to develop dedicated systems for clinical use. A key element to this development is the use of fibre-optic probes to allow measurements in vivo. We recently reported a study in which optical fibres were used for PRS measurements [48], Although not yet fully realized into a dental probe, this study demonstrated the design and feasibility of acquiring parallel- and cross-polarized Raman spectra via a bifurcated optical fibre whose distal terminal has the two fibres aligned vertically for simultaneously collecting spectra from the two polarization channels on a 2D CCD array. Simultaneous data acquisition will allow for more rapid measurement times in vivo. 

Glass-ceramic materials can be used to produce elements of fibre optics, translucent ceramics, photochromic and laser glasses, oxide conductive glasses, etc. 

The purpose of this chapter is to deal with the surface modification of cellulose fibres in order to provide them with specific functionalities, so that they can play determining roles in such applications as reinforcing elements for composite materials, self-contained composite structures, anti-pollution aids, hybrid materials, superhydrophobic surfaces and conductive and magnetic materials. Other types of surface modifications, such as those associated with dying or the manufacture of chromosorb, enzymatic and ion-exchange supports, fall outside the scope of this review. Within the structure of this book, this chapter constitutes in many ways a bridge between the chemistry associated with bulk modification treated in Chapter 16 and the processing and properties of composite materials in Chapter 19, with the addition of more specific aspects. 

Another approachis to directly embed conducting elements within afabric or yam. For example, a Bedford cord can be used to surround electronic fibres (Nakad et al., 2007). 

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