Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are currently seen as very promising candidates for many applications within the area of smart textiles and e-textiles. However, up to now many of the practical aspects of their implementation in textiles have received little attention, these including the everyday treatments of textiles (i.e., washing) as well as the industrial processes of coloring or texturing. The following paper shows that these integration issues may be overcome by coating the nanotube fibers with a thin uniform sheath of textile polymer. Such a coating will enable repeated washing, dyeing and texturing of the fibers, whilst simultaneously providing very effective electrical insulation and separation from the human body. From the user’s perspective, the hybrid fibers will appear similar to traditional textile threads, while maintaining the original light weight, electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of the bare nanotube fibers. The work presents methods that can be utilized in the preparation of hybrid CNT fibers. These methods have been tested on both dry- and wet-spun nanotube fibers. The work includes extensive mechanical, electrical and laundry tests as well as the scanning electron microscopy characterization of bare, straight hybrid and textured fibers. Finally, examples of applications for coated fibers are presented.
