Conductive Materials in Smart Textiles

Naturally, conductive fibers can be produced purely from inherently conductive materials, such as metals, metal alloys, carbon sources, and conjugated polymers (ICPs) [66]. 

However, it is important to point out that nanofibers produced from polymers do not in general show quantum effects usually associated with nanotechnology, with spatially confined matter. The reason simply is first of all that the nature of the electronic states of oiganie materials ineluding polymer materials that control optical and electronic properties does not resemble the one known for semiconductors or conductors. 

Furthermore, both amorphous polymers and partially crystalline polymers have structures anyway even in the bulk, in macroscopie bodies that are restricted to the nanometer seale. The short-range order of amorphous polymers, as represented by the pair correlation function, does not extend beyond about 2 run and the thiekness of erystalline lamellae is typically in the range of a few nanometers or a few tens of nanometer, respectively. 

the general conclusion is that the reduction of the diameter of fibers made from polymers or organic materials for that matter will affect neither optical nor electronic properties to a significant degree or the intrinsic structure. This will, of course, be different if we are concerned with fibers composed of metals, metal oxides, semiconductors as accessible via the precursor route. In such cases, one is well within the range of quantum effects and the properties of such fibers have to be discussed along the lines spelt out in textbooks on quantum effects [68], 

staying with the subject of polymer fibers the discussion given above should certainly not lead to the conclusion that nanofibers and non-wovens composed of nanofibers do not display unique properties and functions of interest both in the areas of basic science but also technical applications, just the contrary. 

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