Superhydrophobic, flame-retardant and conductive cotton fabrics via layer-by-layer assembly of carbon nanotubes for flexible sensing electronics

Functional textiles are ideal substrates for wearable electronics. Herein, superhydrophobic, flame-retardant and conductive cotton fabrics were fabricated by sequential assembly of poly(ethylenimine), ammonium polyphosphate and carbon nanotubes, followed by post-treatment with poly(dimethylsiloxane). The resulting fabrics possessed excellent superhydrophobic stability toward acid, alkali, organic solvent, UV irradiation, abrasion and long-time laundering. Meanwhile, when suffering to fire, the coated fabric could generate an efficient char layer and extinguish the fire to protect the cotton fiber from forming flame. Furthermore, this conductive cotton fabric exhibited stable sensing ability in contact with water droplets, showing wide potential application in wearable electronics as multifunctional smart textiles.