The development of smart polymer materials is reviewed and illustrated. Important examples of these polymers include conducting polymers, ionic gels, stimulus-response be used polymers, liquid crystalline polymers and piezoelectric materials, which have desirable properties for use in wearable sensors. This review outlines the mode of action in these types of smart polymers systems for utilisation as wearable sensors. Categories of wearable sensors are considered as tattoo-like designs, patch-like, textile-based, and contact lens-based sensors. The advantages and disadvantages of each sensor types are considered together with information on the typical performance. The research gap linking smart polymer materials to wearable sensors with integrated power systems is highlighted. Smart polymer systems may be used as part of a holistic approach to improve wearable devices and accelerate the integration of wearable sensors and power systems, particularly in health care.

Traditional ceramic materials are generally brittle and not flexible with high production costs, which seriously hinders their practical applications. Multifunctional nanofiber ceramic aerogels are highly desirable for applications in extreme environments, however, the integration of multiple functions in their preparation is extremely challenging. To tackle these challenges, we fabricated a multifunctional SiC@SiO2 nanofiber aerogel (SiC@SiO2 NFA) with a three-dimensional (3D) porous cross-linked structure through a simple chemical vapor deposition method and subsequent heat-treatment process. The as-prepared SiC@SiO2 NFA exhibits an ultralow density (~ 11 mg cm− 3), ultra-elastic, fatigue-resistant and refractory performance, high temperature thermal stability, thermal insulation properties, and significant strain-dependent piezoresistive sensing behavior. Furthermore, the SiC@SiO2 NFA shows a superior electromagnetic wave absorption performance with a minimum refection loss (RLmin) value of − 50.36 dB and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 8.6 GHz. The successful preparation of this multifunctional aerogel material provides a promising prospect for the design and fabrication of the cutting-edge ceramic materials.

Cation transport through nanochannels in graphene oxide can be rectified to give ionic diode devices for future applications, for example, in desalination. A film of graphene oxide is applied to a 6 μm thick poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate with a 20 μm diameter microhole and immersed in aqueous HCl solution. Strong diode effects are observed even at high ionic strength (0.5 M). Switching between open and closed states, microhole size effects, and time-dependent phenomena are explained on the basis of a simplified theoretical model focusing on the field-driven transport within the microhole region. In aqueous NaCl, competition between Na + transport and field-driven heterolytic water splitting is observed but shown to be significant only at low ionic strength. Therefore, nanostructured graphene oxide is demonstrated to exhibit close to ideal behavior for future application in ionic diode desalination of seawater.