Superhydrophobic E-textile with an Ag-EGaIn Conductive Layer for Motion Detection and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Abstract

As as emerging innovation, electronic textiles have shown promising potential in health monitoring, energy harvesting, temperature regulation, and human–computer interactions. To access broader application scenarios, numerous e-textiles have been designed with a superhydrophobic surface to steer clear of interference from humidity or chemical decay. Nevertheless, even the cutting-edge electronic textiles (e-textiles) still have difficulty in realizing superior conductivity and satisfactory water repellency simultaneously. Herein, a facile and efficient approach to integrate a hierarchical elastic e-textile is proposed by electroless silver plating on GaIn alloy liquid metal coated textiles. The continuous uneven surface of AgNPs and deposition of FAS-17 endow the textile with exceptional and robust superhydrophobic performance, in which the conductivity and the contact angle of the as-made textile could reach 2145 ± 122 S/cm and 161.5 ± 2.1°, respectively. On the basis of such excellent conductivity, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding function is excavated and the average shielding efficiency (SE) reaches about 87.56 dB within frequencies of 8.2–12.4 GHz. Furthermore, due to its high elasticity and low modulus, the textile can serve as a wearable strain sensor for motion detection, health monitoring, and underwater message transmission. This work provides a novel route to fabricate high-performance hydrophobic e-textiles, in which the encapsulation strategy could be referenced for the further development of conductive textiles.

Lightweight, superhydrophobic, lignin-based polyurethane foam composites for underwater pressure sensing

“…As humans continue to explore underwater environments, underwater flexible sensors become more and more important for underwater exploration and detection. [1][2][3][4] As such, underwater flexible sensors play a vital role in the exploration and survey of underwater environments by detecting various signals from both anthropogenic and natural environmental sources, then converting them into electrical signals in order to ascertain various sources of underwater information. [5][6][7] Flexible pressure sensors have attracted considerable attention in recent years and have made considerable progress in terrestrial applications; [8][9][10] however, due to the huge difference between underwater and terrestrial environments, these sensors are susceptible to corrosion and degradation from various underwater environments, which have irreversible effects on sensor performance.…”

Superhydrophobic Conductive Suede Fabrics Based on Carboxylated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Polydopamine for Wearable Pressure Sensors

“…Textiles have long been recognized as a symbol of social development that reflects human civilization. The advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) inspires the invention and fabrication of various smart textiles for mechanical sensing, − biochemical sensing, , thermal management, , energy management, , and wireless communications. , Among these, textile-based sensors for pressure sensing have gained considerable attention due to their potential for detecting vital signs of humans. In the medical field, pressure sensor textiles can detect physiological signals such as body movement, sphygmogram, and respiration frequencies, which offer key diagnostic traits to help doctors better understand the health condition of patients and implement round-the-clock treatment protocols .…”

Electrically Conductive AgNPs/TPU-Electrospun Fibers with Hierarchical Microstructures by a One-Step Method for a High-Performance Flexible Pressure Sensor

“…In recent years, studies on the application of flexible pressure sensors in the fields of electronic skin, , artificial intelligence, , and health monitoring , have attracted the attention of many scholars due to their good flexibility, durability, biocompatibility, and other advantages. According to the different sensing mechanism, flexible pressure sensors are mainly classified into four different types, including piezoresistive, capacitive, piezoelectric, and friction electric .…”