Galvorn Carbon Nanotube Fibers & Yarns for Advanced Textiles
The next generation of smart protective fabrics.
The textile industry is transforming, with fabrics becoming active systems that sense, protect, and communicate. Designers face a "material paradox"—the need for high electrical and thermal conductivity without sacrificing comfort, weight, and flexibility. Galvorn eliminates this trade-off, delivering superior conductivity, durability, and comfort versus traditional conductive threads. It enables a new class of multifunctional textiles and garments—from EMI shielding fabrics and plasma-activated fabrics to neutralize chemical and biological threats to biometric-sensing tactical gear, active-cooling uniforms, and lightweight ballistic protection.
Performance Without Compromise
Galvorn outperforms incumbent conductive threads and protective fibers across every critical performance vector. In smart clothing applications, it provides up to 10x lower resistivity than silver-coated nylon and significantly higher conductivity than stainless steel thread. For protective gear, it offers superior cut resistance compared to Kevlar® and Dyneema®, making it the ideal choice for elite performance and high-risk environments.
Third-Generation E-Textiles
- The Garment is the Sensor: Seamlessly integrate EKG sensing and capacitive touch directly into the weave.
- Seamless Connectivity: Replace bulky wiring with soft, conductive pathways for power and data..
- Biocompatible Interface: Safe for prolonged skin contact and tested to ISO 10993 standards.
Galvorn enables "third-generation" e-textiles where the fabric itself becomes the electronic component. Because Galvorn yarn can be handled like a textile thread, it can be sewn, embroidered, woven, or knitted using standard industrial equipment to create complex electronic functionality—such as health monitoring or integrated communications—without adding the weight or stiffness of traditional metal components.
High-Performance Protection
- Superior Cut Resistance: Demonstrated specific energy indentation 2.4x greater than Kevlar and Dyneema.
- Active CBRN Defense: Integrated into plasma-activated fabrics to neutralize chemical and biological threats.
- Unified Shielding: Consolidate mechanical defense and EMI shielding into a single, lightweight layer.
Beyond electronics, Galvorn provides a new frontier in wearable protection. Its unique ability to dissipate energy makes it a premier choice for cut-resistant and potentially ballistic-rated gear. Its chemical stability and electrical properties also allow for advanced applications like the DARPA-funded multifunctional fabrics that actively decontaminate environmental hazards.
Advanced Thermal Management
- Efficient Heat Dissipation: Thermal conductivity of 450 W/m-K, surpassing copper (385 W/m-K).
- Active Cooling & Heating: Ideal for textile-based heat exchangers and resistive heating elements.
- Thermoelectric Potential: Converts body heat into power for on-body electronics via flexible TEGs.
Galvorn is exceptionally efficient at managing heat. Whether used to dissipate heat in high-performance athletic wear or to provide active warmth in extreme cold-weather gear, its textile-like form factor can increase surface area for superior heat transfer.
Unmatched Durability & Hand
- Extreme Flex Life: Boasts 1,000x the flex life of copper, surviving millions of cycles without failure.
- Washable & Resilient: Maintains high performance and conductivity through repeated laundering.
- Textile "Hand": Offers the softness and drape of cotton with 30x the strength of stainless steel.
Traditional conductive textiles often fail due to the work-hardening and brittle nature of metal-coated fibers. Galvorn solves this by behaving like a polymer fiber but conducting like a metal. This "textile hand" allows for natural body movement and ensures that smart garments remain functional and comfortable over their entire lifecycle, even after repeated wear and washing.
DexMat is a proud member of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America.
