Advanced Fiber Materials最新文献

Owing to the high flexibility, low thermal conductivity, and tunable electrical transport property, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) exhibits promising potential for designing flexible thermoelectric devices in the form of films or fibers. However, the low Seebeck coefficient and power factor of PEDOT:PSS have restricted its practical applications. Here, we sequentially employ triple post-treatments with concentrated sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), sodium borohydride (NaBH₄), and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dichloroacetate (EMIM:DCA) to enhance the thermoelectric performance of flexible PEDOT:PSS fibers with a high power factor of (55.4 ± 1.8) μW m⁻¹ K⁻² at 25 °C. Comprehensive characterizations confirm that excess insulating PSS can be selectively removed after H₂SO₄ and EMIM:DCA treatments, which induces conformational changes to increase charge carrier mobility, leading to enhanced electrical conductivity. Simultaneously, NaBH₄ treatment is employed to adjust the oxidation level, further optimizing the Seebeck coefficient. Additionally, the assembled flexible fiber thermoelectric devices show an output power density of (60.18 ± 2.79) nW cm⁻² at a temperature difference of 10 K, proving the superior performance and usability of the optimized fibers. This work provides insights into developing high-performance organic thermoelectric materials by modulating polymer chains.

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Fiber strain sensors with robust sensing performance are indispensable for human–machine interactions in the electronic textiles. However, current fiber strain sensors are confronted with the challenges of unavoidable deterioration of functional sensing components during wearable and extreme environments, resulting in unsatisfactory stability and durability. Here, we present a robust fiber strain sensor based on the mutual inductance effect. The sensor is assembled by designing coaxial helical coils around an elastic polyurethane fiber. When stretching the fiber sensor, the strain is detected by recording the voltage changes in the helical coils due to the variation in magnetic flux. The resultant fiber strain sensor shows high linearity (with a linear regression coefficient of 0.99) at a large strain of 100%, and can withstand various extreme environmental conditions, such as high/low temperatures (from − 30 °C to 160 °C), and severe deformations, such as twisting and pressing (with a pressure of 500 N/cm). The long-term cyclic stability of our fiber strain sensor (100,000 cycles at a strain of 100%) is superior to that of most reported flexible resistive and capacitive strain sensors. Finally, the mass-produced fiber strain sensors are woven into a smart textile system to accurately capture gestures.

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Organ-on-a-chip stands as a pivotal platform for skeletal muscle research while constructing 3D skeletal muscle tissues that possess both macroscopic and microscopic structures remains a considerable challenge. This study draws inspiration from LEGO-like assembly, employing a modular approach to construct muscle tissue that integrates biomimetic macroscopic and microscopic structures. Modular LEGO-like hybrid nanofibrous scaffold bricks were fabricated by the combination of 3D printing and electrospinning techniques. Skeletal muscle cells cultured on these modular scaffold bricks exhibited a highly orientated nanofibrous structure. A variety of construction of skeletal muscle tissues further enabled development by various assembling processes. Moreover, skeletal muscle-on-a-chip (SMoC) was further assembled as a functional platform for electrical or perfusion stimuli investigation. The electrical stimulus was conveniently applied and tuned in such a SMoC platform to significantly enhance the differentiation of skeletal muscle tissues. Additionally, the effect of perfusion stimulation on skeletal muscle vascularization within the SMoC platform was also demonstrated. These findings highlight the potential of these assembled SMoCs as functional ex vivo platforms for skeletal tissue engineering and drug research applications, and such a LEGO-like assembly strategy could also be applied to the other engineering organ-on-chips fabrication, which facilitates the development of bionic functional platforms for various biomedical research applications.

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We developed a list of modular nanofibrous scaffold bricks by a hybrid fabrication method combining 3D printing and electrospinning techniques, featuring precise microscale and nanoscale structures. Emulating the LEGO-like assembly method, these bricks were assembled along the x–y–z axis to mimic various skeletal muscle structures. These developed engineered skeletal muscle tissues were further integrated into the microfluidic chip to develop the skeletal muscle-on-a-chip (SMoC) as an in vitro testing platform for both electrical and perfusion stimuli investigation.

Space exploration provides unparalleled opportunities for unraveling the mysteries of our origins and exploring planetary systems beyond Earth. Long-distance space missions require successful protection against significant radiation exposure, necessitating the development of effective radiation shielding materials. This study developed aromatic amide polymer (AAP) and boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) composite fibers using lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) and industrially viable wet-spinning processes. The uniaxially oriented 1D composite fibers provide the necessary continuity and pliability to fabricate 2D macroscopic textiles with low density (1.80 g cm⁻³), mechanical modulus (18.16 GPa), and heat stability (up to 479 °C), while exhibiting the improved thermal neutron absorption cross-section with thermal neutron-shielding performance (0.73 mm⁻¹). These composite textiles also show high thermal conductivity (7.88 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) due to their densely packed and uniaxially oriented structures. These enhanced characteristics render the fibers a highly promising material for space applications, offering robust protection for both astronauts and electronics against the dual threats of radiation and heat.

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An advanced approach for functionalizing the surfaces of electrospun poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) nanofibers for biomedical applications is presented here. Using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), a coating of the copolymer p(PFMA-co-DVB) containing poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate) (PFMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) was applied to the PLCL nanofibers. This coating facilitated efficient immobilization of the biomolecules on the PLCL nanofiber surfaces, allowing precise adjustments to the polymer composition through modulation of the monomer flow rates. The resulting copolymer exhibited superior efficiency for immobilizing IgG, as confirmed by immunofluorescence intensity analysis. In vitro studies conducted with different neural cell types demonstrated that the laminin-coated iCVD-functionalized PLCL nanofibers maintained their inherent biocompatibility while significantly enhancing cell adhesion. By exploiting the elastic nature of the PLCL nanofibers, cell elongation could be successfully manipulated by controlling the nanofiber alignment, as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy and quantification of the immunofluorescence image orientation. These findings highlight the potential of iCVD-modified PLCL nanofibers as versatile platforms for neural tissue engineering and various biomedical applications, allowing valuable biomaterial surface modifications for enhanced cellular interactions.

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Wearable electronics based on natural biomaterials, such as bacterial cellulose (BC), have shown promise for a variety of healthcare and human-computer interaction applications. However, current BC-based pressure sensors have an inherent limitation, which is the two-dimensional rigid structures and limited compressibility of BC restrict the sensitivity and working range for pressure sensing. Here, we propose a strategy for fabricating BC/polypyrrole/spacer fabric (BPSF) pressure sensors with a hierarchical structure constructed by integrating conductive BC nanonetwork into a compressible fabric frame via the in situ biofermentation process. The hierarchical structure design includes a cross-scale network from the nanoscale BC sensor networks to the macroscopic three-dimensional compressible fabric sensor network, which significantly improves the working range (0–300 kPa) and sensitivity (40.62 kPa⁻¹) of BPSF. Via this unique structural design, the sensor also achieves a high fatigue life (~5000 cycles), wearability, and reproducibility even after several washing and abrasion cycles. Furthermore, a flexible and wearable electronic textile featuring an n × n sensing matrix was developed by constructing BPSF arrays, allowing for the precise control of machines and weight distribution analysis. These empirical insights are valuable for the biofabrication and textile structure design of wearable devices toward the realization of highly intuitive human-machine interfaces.

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