Electrically conductive coatings of nickel and polypyrrole/poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) on nylon Lycra® textiles

Woven nylon Lycra® has been coated with finely-divided electroless nickel-phosphorus, polypyrrole and electroless nickel/polypyrrole to produce flexible and electrically conductive textiles. The coated textiles were tested for their electrochemical activity, electrical resistivity and resistivity in response to mechanical strain. Pre-dyeing the textile with poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) (PMAS) prior to electroless metallization by electroless nickel and via chemical polymerization of polypyrrole was found to be beneficial in enhancing the resultant coating as well as stabilizing surface resistance responses when exposed to a wide range of strain. The mass gain due to the nickel coating was found to increase linearly with deposition time. The surface resistivity of the coated textile was found to decrease at longer nickel deposition times.