Biobased piezofibres for technical textiles
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB - RISE |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 468 000 |
| Project duration | May 2024 - November 2024 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme Bioinnovation |
| Call | BioInnovation Hypothesis testing Step 1 - 2024 |
Important results from the project
The aim of this project was to evaluate and develop biobased thermoplastic polymers for high value applications in technical textiles, based on their potential piezoelectric characteristics. Our results indicate that there exist several promising candidate materials, including biopolyesters and odd-numbered biopolyamides, which were suitable for melt spinning and for use in practical applications including biobased e-textiles, filtration materials and “smart” composites.
Expected long term effects
This project resulted in expanded knowledge and developed collaborations, which can lead to continued research towards: - use of biopolymers as base material for novel e-textiles. - development of filtration materials with increased efficiency and life span. - development and upscaling of piezofibres for sensing applications, e.g. for use in “smart” composites. - further material development to optimize piezoeffect in biopolymers.
Approach and implementation
Our project was carried out in 4 steps: (1) Materials selection: Potentially piezoelectric biopolymers were selected and collected. (2) Characterization: Processing and test methods were developed for manufacture of piezoelectric test cells. (3) Fibre spinning: Several biopolymers could be melt spun without difficulty. (4) Concept development: Lab scale demonstrations of conducting e-textiles, and sensing technical textiles were done.