Silk Fibroin-Based Wearable All-Fiber Multifunctional Sensor for Smart Clothing

Dan-Liang Wen; Yu-Xing Pang; Peng Huang; Yi-Lin Wang; Xin-Ran Zhang; Hai-Tao Deng; Xiao-Sheng Zhang

doi:10.1007/s42765-022-00150-x

Advanced Fiber Materials ›› 2022, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (4) : 873 -884. DOI: 10.1007/s42765-022-00150-x

Research Article

Silk Fibroin-Based Wearable All-Fiber Multifunctional Sensor for Smart Clothing

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¹School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731, Chengdu, China

^g zhangxs@uestc.edu.cn

Dan-Liang Wen

is currently a Ph.D. candidate in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He received the B.S. degree in Henan University of Science and Technology in 2017. His research interest mainly focuses on flexible electronics and self-powered microsystems.

Yu-Xing Pang

is currently an undergraduate in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). His research interest mainly focuses on flexible electronics and self-powered microsystems.

Peng Huang

is currently a Ph.D. candidate in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He received the B.S degree in Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) in 2020. His research interest mainly focuses on flexible electronics and self-powered microsystems.

Yi-Lin Wang

is currently a Ph.D. student in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He received the B.S. degree in UESTC in 2020. His research interest mainly focuses on flexible electronics and tactile sensors.

Xin-Ran Zhang

is currently a Ph.D. candidate in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). She received the B.S. degree in UESTC in 2016. Her research interest mainly focuses on micro/nano manufacturing technologies and self-powered microsystems.

Hai-Tao Deng

is currently a Ph.D. student in research group of Xiaosheng Zhang at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). She received the B.S. degree in UESTC in 2017. Her research interest mainly focuses on self-powered soft wearable electronic devices for applications in micro/nano-energy harvesting and multifunctional sensing.

Xiao-Sheng Zhang

is currently a Professor at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He received the Ph.D. degree in Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics from Peking University in 2014. And then he joined École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, as a research scientist, and also served as a research associate at The University of Tokyo, Japan. In 2017, he was awarded with the Hundred-Talent Professorship by the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. His research field covers the micro/nano electronic science and technology, and especially its application for self-powered micro/nano electronics.

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Abstract

Wearable sensing technology enables the interaction between the physical world and the digital world, as takes an irreplaceable role in development of the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI). However, increasing requirements posed by rapid development of wearable electronic information technology bring about many for wearable sensing technology, such as the demands for ultrahigh flexibility, air permeability, excellent biocompatibility, and multifunctional integration. Herein, we propose a wearable all-fiber multifunctional sensor (AFMS) based on a biocompatible material, i.e., silk fibroin. A simple two-layer configuration of a silk fiber film and an interdigital Ag nanowires (AgNWs) electrode was designed to construct the AFMS, in which silk fibroin simultaneously serves as a fundamental supporting component and a functional sensing component. Electrospinning and spray coating technologies were introduced to process the silk fiber film and the AgNWs electrode. The all-fiber configuration allows AFMS to possess ultrahigh flexibility and good air permeability, and silk fibroin enables the AFMS to have excellent biocompatibility. More importantly, benefiting from the all-fiber structure and the environmentally sensitive dielectric property of silk fibroin, the AFMS presented multiple sensing characteristics, including pressure sensing, temperature sensing, and humidity sensing. Among them, the pressure sensing function reached a high sensitivity of 2.27 pF/kPa (7.5%/kPa) and a remarkable resolution of ~ 26 Pa in the low pressure range. Additionally, the outstanding mechanical reliability and sensing stability of AFMS were proven by a systematic experiment. In addition, the AFMS was successfully applied for smart mask for breathing monitoring and a smart glove for bending angle recognition of finger joints. Multiple sensing characteristics combined with prominent fundamental features enable the AFMS tremendous potential in the smart sensing field, e.g., smart clothing.

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Dan-Liang Wen, Yu-Xing Pang, Peng Huang, Yi-Lin Wang, Xin-Ran Zhang, Hai-Tao Deng, Xiao-Sheng Zhang. Silk Fibroin-Based Wearable All-Fiber Multifunctional Sensor for Smart Clothing. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2022, 4(4): 873-884 DOI:10.1007/s42765-022-00150-x