Manchester: Electroluminescent yarns for glow in the dark clothing

Licensing opportunity

Researchers at the William Lee Innovation Centre at Manchester University in the UK have developed a textile yarn that can be used to make clothing glow in the dark.

Currently high-visibility clothing such as those worn by emergency services, cyclists and workers depend on external light sources, such as headlights to make them visible.

The thin film electroluminescent yarn emits light when powered by a battery, making the wearer visible regardless of light intensity.

The yarn consists of an inner conductive core yarn, coated with electroluminescent ink that emits light when an electric current is passed through it. The inner core is protected with a transparent covering, which in turn has an outer conductive yarn wrapped around it.

When the powered is turned on the resultant electrical field between the inner and outer conductor causes the electroluminescent coating to emit light. The emission of light occurs between the contact points between the outer yarn and the inner yarn.

At present the electroluminescent yarn is less flexible than conventional yarns, says Tilak Dias, Head of the WLIC. “But it is more flexible than current optical fibres that are incorporated within fabrics to provide illumination.”

He added, “The luminance of a single strand of the electroluminescent yarn is greater than that of photo luminescent glow yarns, which are currently used in some high visibility applications.”