Intelligent perceptual textiles based on ionic-conductive and strong silk fibers

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 3289 - 9
• Main Authors: Lu, Haojie, Zhang, Yong, Zhu, Mengjia, Li, Shuo, Liang, Huarun, Bi, Peng, Wang, Shuai, Wang, Haomin, Gan, Linli, Wu, Xun-En, Zhang, Yingying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.04.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 140/133; 140/146; 147/135; 639/301/1005/1007; 639/301/923/3931; 639/638/298/923/3931; Fabrication; Fibers; Fingers; Fracture strength; Humanities and Social Sciences; Interfaces; Man-machine interfaces; Mechanical properties; multidisciplinary; Protective clothing; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Silk; Silk fibroin; Tactile stimuli; Textiles
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47665-y

Endowing textiles with perceptual function, similar to human skin, is crucial for the development of next-generation smart wearables. To date, the creation of perceptual textiles capable of sensing potential dangers and accurately pinpointing finger touch remains elusive. In this study, we present the design and fabrication of intelligent perceptual textiles capable of electrically responding to external dangers and precisely detecting human touch, based on conductive silk fibroin-based ionic hydrogel (SIH) fibers. These fibers possess excellent fracture strength (55 MPa), extensibility (530%), stable and good conductivity (0.45 S·m –1 ) due to oriented structures and ionic incorporation. We fabricated SIH fiber-based protective textiles that can respond to fire, water, and sharp objects, protecting robots from potential injuries. Additionally, we designed perceptual textiles that can specifically pinpoint finger touch, serving as convenient human-machine interfaces. Our work sheds new light on the design of next-generation smart wearables and the reshaping of human-machine interfaces. Perception plays a pivotal role in advancing future intelligent textiles. Here, the authors develop smart perceptual textiles using natural-derived ionic-conductive silk fibers. These textiles can electrically detect external hazards and precisely pinpointing human touch, making them suitable for smart protective clothing and soft human-machine interfaces.