UMass Amherst Researchers Use Nano-Coatings to Create Electrically Heated Textiles
AMHERST, MA – Commuters, skiers, crossing guards and others who endure frozen fingers in cold weather may look forward to future relief as manufacturers are poised to take advantage of a new technique for creating electrically heated cloth developed by materials scientist Trisha Andrew and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They have made gloves that keep fingers as warm as the palm of the hand.
In a new paper in Applied Materials & Interfaces, the scientists describe how they use a vapor deposition method for nano-coating fabric to create sewable, weavable, electrically heated material. The demonstration glove they made can keep fingers toasty for up to eight hours. The three-layered glove, with one layer coated by the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxytiophene), also known as PEDOT, is powered by a button battery weighing 1.8 grams. A dime weighs just under 2.27 grams.