Ion conductors (ICs) have gained extensive research interest in various advanced application scenarios including sensors, batteries, and supercapacitors. However, stretchable, tough, and long-term stable ICs are still hard to achieve yet highly demanded. In this study, the authors propose a one-pot green and sustainable fabrication of cellulose based ICs through polymerizable deep eutectic solvents treated cellulose followed by an in situ photo-polymerization. The obtained ICs exhibit extremely high stretchability (3210 ± 302%), high toughness (13.17 ± 2.32 MJ m −3 ), high transparency, and self-healing ability. Notably, the introduction of cellulose fibers greatly enhances the mechanical properties of ICs while eliminating the environmental concerns of traditional nanocellulose fabrication process. More importantly, the ICs possess good long-term performance stability after 1 month storage. Due to these outstanding properties, the feasibility of applying ICs in human motion sensing and physiological signal detecting is demonstrated. This simple and green method will contribute to the development of tough, self-healing, transparent, and long-term stable ICs.

The development of electronic textiles used for wearable devices and systems for healthcare monitoring applications has experienced rapid growth in the last decade. Knowledge and understanding of the textile structural hierarchy, as well as the ability to define properties from the fiber and yarn to the fabric level are crucial to the selection of materials and design and performance of wearable systems. However, few studies have approached the selection of optimal e-textile structures with respect to material, electrical, and signal performance properties of sensors used for long-term biological signal monitoring. In this work, a review of e-textile structural properties (fiber, yarn, and fabric) for electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes is presented, along with their relationship to performance properties including electrical, material, ECG signal quality, fabric hand (sensory perception and quality), and physiological comfort. Considerations and insights into the textile fiber and yarn morphology, electrode structure, design, and construction are outlined. In addition, relevant and upcoming standards for e-textile testing and performance evaluation are summarized. This work serves to organize requirements for ECG textile electrodes into a general reference framework from a bottom-up approach, which can better guide the material selection and design of ECG textile electrodes for wearable applications.

Electronic textile (e-textile) systems applied to biological signal monitoring are of great interest to the healthcare industry, given the potential to provide continuous and long-term monitoring of healthy individuals and patients. Most developments in e-textiles have focused on novel materials and systems without systematic considerations into how the hierarchical structure of fibrous assemblies may influence performance and compatibility of the materials during use. This study examines mechanisms underlying the stability and quality of textile-based electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes used in a smart bra. Signal quality of the biometric data obtained affects feedback and user experience and may be influenced by characteristics and properties of the material. Under stationary and dynamic conditions, analysis of the raw ECG signal and heart rate, with respect to textile-electrode material properties have been performed. Currently, there is no standardized procedure to compare the ECG signal between electrode materials. In this study, several methods have been applied to compare differences between silver-based textile electrodes and silver/silver-chloride gel electrodes. The comparison methods serve to complement visual observations of the ECG signal acquired, as possible quantitative means to differentiate electrode materials and their performance. From the results obtained, signal quality, and heart rate (HR) detection were found to improve with increased skin contact, and textile structures with lower stretch and surface resistance, especially under dynamic/movement test conditions. It was found that the performance of the textile electrode materials compared exceeded ECG signal quality thresholds previously established for acceptable signal quality, specifically for the kurtosis (K > 5), and Pearson correlation coefficients (r ≥ 0.66) taken from average ECG waveforms calculated.

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