Light-Emitting Fibers Could Be Woven Into Clothes

Light-Emitting Fibers Could Be Woven Into Clothes
Mar-24-15
A new light-emitting fiber that can be woven into textiles could open the door to an array of glowing, personalized fashion.

Incorporating OLEDs into wearables has been difficult, because the OLEDs are sensitive to exposure to air, something fabric would see a lot of. To overcome the obstacle, researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai developed a method for creating PLECs that can withstand being woven into fabrics.

The team created the PLECs by coating a tiny, bare wire with zinc oxide nanoparticles, followed by a coating of an electroluminescent polymer and finished with a transparent layer of carbon nanotubes. The long, flexible cell emits blue and yellow light when subjected to a small amount of electricity, and is thin enough to be woven into fabric. The team plans to expand the color palette, and says that the technology can be scaled up easily, allowing the glowing fibers to find their way into clothing in the near future.

Large Image Prototype of the light-emitting fiber. Credit: Huisheng Peng

Light-Emitting Fibers Could Be Woven Into Clothes


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