Toward sustainable wearable electronic textiles

Dulal, Marzia

Abstract

Smart wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) that can detect and differentiate multiple stimuli whilst also collecting and storing the diverse array of data signals using highly innovative, multifunctional, and smart garments are of great value for personalised healthcare applications. However, material performance and sustainability, complicated and difficult e-textile fabrication methods, and their limited end-of-life (EoL) processability are major challenges to the wide adoption of e-textiles. To address these, this study extensively explores the current state-of-the-art e-textiles with an eco-design approach, focusing on sustainable materials, scalable and digital fabrication methods, and comprehensive EoL sustainability assessments. This study addresses performance and environmental sustainability by integrating sustainable resource materials like graphene and regenerated cellulosic fibre-based textiles such as Tencel. Chapter 4 examined the current trend in the wearable e-textiles field and tested the conceptual framework, stating that the sustainable design construct is linked to the resolution of EoL processabilities through the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) modelling for eco-design of the next-generation wearable e-textiles. In Chapter 5, wearable e-textiles were developed using a scalable pad-dry coating to evaluate the sustainability of these e-textiles by soil burial testing, analysis of the textiles' biodegradation behaviour, and evaluation of the microbial community's response. Chapter 6 introduces a sustainable paradigm for fabricating inkjet-printed smart, wearable, and eco-friendly electronic textiles (SWEET) with textile electrodes to monitor vital signs like skin surface temperature and heart rate, aiming to enhance personalised healthcare solutions and address the challenges posed by an ageing population and increasing healthcare demands. Chapter 7 presents a recycling strategy for scalable wearable e-textiles using pyrolysis and grinding processes to regain conductive materials, addressing environmental issues like e-waste and the challenges of recycling combined textile and electronic materials. Graphene-coated fabric exhibited durability, low electrical resistance changes and structural integrity during soil biodegradation and low impact on microbial growth. In contrast, graphene-inkjet-printed fabric showed significant degradation, with a ~47.73% weight loss and ~98% tensile strength loss after 4 months of soil burial, enhancing soil microbial composition. Furthermore, recovering graphene-like materials through closed-loop recycling of graphene-coated fabrics supports the 4R principles (reduce, reuse, recycle, recover), enhancing sustainability and lifecycle management of wearable e-textiles with low global warming potential (GWP). Hence, this research advances sustainable design, performance, and end-of-life solutions, paving the way for next-generation e-textiles that can be recycled into value-added products or safely decomposed in landfills, promoting environmental conservation, and encouraging integrated product design.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 29, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 5, 2026
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12013919
• Award Date: Dec 4, 2024