Polypyrrole coating on aramid fabrics for improved stab resistance and multifunction

As an epoch of intelligent clothing is coming, soft body armor is required to possess not only improved mechanical performance but more functions, such as electronic conductivity, anti-ultraviolet capability, electrical heating property, etc. In this work, polypyrrole (PPy) is coated on Twaron fabrics to enhancing their stabbing resistance and simultaneously endowing them with multifunction. The resultant PPy-coated Twaron fabric exhibits better tensile strength. The strength of the PPy-coated fiber is increased by 12.03% and the maximum friction between the yarns in the PPy-coated fabric increases by 8.96 times. The quasi-static stab resistance of the PPy-coated fabric is also significantly improved in comparison with that of the neat counterpart. Furthermore, PPy-coated fabric exhibits anti-ultraviolet capability, high electrical conductivity, and stable electrical heating properties. The saturation temperature from the electrical heating is tunable by adjusting the applied voltage. These functions ensure that the treated fabrics can be applied in more areas and facilitate relieving the adverse effects from the external environment (rainstorm, blizzard, insolation, etc.) for the soft body armor. This study offers the potential of developing the novel generation of smart soft body armor with both excellent protective performance and intelligent wearable properties.