Functional Fiber Materials to Smart Fiber Devices

Abstract

The development of fiber materials has accompanied the evolution of human civilization for centuries. Recent advances in materials science and chemistry offered fibers new applications with various functions, including energy harvesting, energy storing, displaying, health monitoring and treating, and computing. The unique one-dimensional shape of fiber devices endows them advantages to work as human-interfaced electronics due to the small size, lightweight, flexibility, and feasibility for integration into large-scale textile systems. In this review, we first present a discussion of the basics of fiber materials and the design principles of fiber devices, followed by a comprehensive analysis on recently developed fiber devices. Finally, we provide the current challenges facing this field and give an outlook on future research directions. With novel fiber devices and new applications continuing to be discovered after two decades of research, we envision that new fiber devices could have an important impact on our life in the near future.

Soft Fiber Electronics Based on Semiconducting Polymer

“…External forces may produce contact between electrodes in the cross-type structure, leading to short circuits and mechanical damage . In this instance, the twist-type structure is an alternative device with higher mechanical stability.…”

“…The traditional white light OLED has a serial structure, and its light emitting layer (EML) is 2–3 times thicker than that of a single-color OLED, making its use in fibers challenging. Thermal evaporation deposition is typically used for planar devices, however, it is ineffective for fibers due to their high nonuniformity . The nonuniform active layers tend to break down during bending and wearing, drastically lowering the lifetime and even generating harmful chemical leaks .…”

Nanostructured Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Coatings on Functionalized Glass for Energy Storage

“…Transparent energy storage devices have been drawing much attention in recent years due to the emergence of smart windows and the rapid development of solar cells and touchscreen electronics. − Among all energy storage devices, supercapacitors show much promise due to their fast charging ability and cycling stability. Supercapacitors also bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and batteries in terms of energy and power densities. − Various factors are evaluated for a transparent supercapacitor, including transparency, energy and power densities, specific capacitance, and cycle stability. − ,, Among the materials for energy storage, poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) rises as one of the most promising supercapacitor electrode materials due to high conductivity, environmental stability, light weight, and ease of synthesis. , A major challenge for depositing this conducting polymer on a glass substrate is the lack of molecular interactions between organic and inorganic moieties resulting in poor adhesion and low cycle stability of the electrode. ,, Many studies overcome this challenge by embedding polymers in a framework, utilizing a sacrificial layer, or creating polymer/metal oxide composites. ,− However, these studies rely on glass with conductive coatings, such as fluorine-doped tin oxide or indium-doped tin oxide, that are both susceptible to dissolution in an acidic environment and potentially costly for large-scale implementation. Inspired by silanization and Friedel–Crafts alkylation mechanisms, ,− we present an alternative approach by covalently linking a polymer and glass through a self-assembled diphenyldimethoxysilane monolayer.…”

A Rapid Quantitative Analysis of Bicomponent Fibers Based on Cross-Sectional In-Situ Observation

“…The material, morphology, and distribution uniformity of each component in these electronic fibers and the bicomponent obviously affect their properties. A series of testing standards should be developed for these products prior to they being widely applied [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. A good testing standard has the following characteristics: (1) the test results are stable and comparable among enterprises; (2) the detection equipment is economical, and the detection cost is low; (3) the operation steps are simple and suitable for ordinary detection technicians.…”