Polyimides, high-performance polymers with superior properties such as high temperature stability, resistance to solvents and high strength, can be used in high-tech applications of the aerospace and aviation, medical or electronics industry in different forms (film, fiber, nanofiber, membrane, foam, adhesive or coating). Among these applications, coating has a special place and is used to develop advanced structures having high temperature resistance, flame retardancy and etc. for high tech industries via an economical and feasible way. Therefore, in this review, we aimed to report the broad application status of polyimide coatings by reviewing publications, patents and commercial products. Thus, this study can assist in selecting suitable polyimide types and production methods for polyimide coating applications and in understanding their applicability for future products.

In this paper, the active photovoltaic fibers consisting of nano-layers of polymer-based organic compounds are presented. A flexible solar cell, including a polymer-based anode, two different nano-materials in bulk heterojunction blends as the light absorbing materials, and a semi-transparent cathode to collect the electrons, was formed by coating these materials onto flexible polypropylene (PP) fibers layer by layer, respectively, to produce electricity. Photovoltaic performances of the fibers were analyzed by measuring current versus voltage characteristics under AM1.5 conditions. The maximum value obtained as the short-circuit current density of photovoltaic fibers was 0.27 mA/cm². The fabrication issues and also possible smart textile applications of these photovoltaic fibers were discussed.

Recently, increasing number of studies are performed on protective fabrics containing metal wires for electromagnetic shielding purposes. In the present paper, the hybrid fabrics in plain and rib structures were knitted by using single and double ply hybrid yarns obtained by acrylic (PAC) yarns plied with stainless steel wires having two different diameters. The physical properties including conductivity, air permeability, pilling, and abrasion resistance as well as electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) were measured. The variations in EMSE as well as reflection, absorption, and transmission and in other physical properties of knitted hybrid fabrics were investigated considering wire content and weave structure. It was seen that an increase in the wire content significantly increased the conductivity. Rib fabrics exhibited better EMSE values as compared with plain fabrics. Fabrics using two-folded yarns exhibited better EMSE values. Fabrics using thinner wire exhibited higher EMSE values. The highest EMSE value was obtained for rib-knitted fabric with 35 micrometer (μm) stainless steel wire.