Liang Shuting, Li Jie, Li Fengjiao, Hu Liang, Chen Wei, Yang Chao
College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, PR China.
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials & Remediation Technologies, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, PR China.
ACS Omega. 2022 Apr 4;7(15):12891-12899. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00098. eCollection 2022 Apr 19.
High-performance and intelligent fibers are indispensable parts of wearable electronics in the future. This work mainly demonstrates the preparation of flexible intelligent liquid metal (LM) fibers with three core-sheath structures. An ultra-thin (10-50 μm), conductive, and highly flexible LM was deposited on the fiber core [carbon/polyethylene terephthalate (C/PET)--150-500 μm] along the fiber direction and then deposited on a polymer-protective layer [polyvinyl alcohol/epoxy resin (PVA/EP)--10 μm]. Four kinds of LM intelligent fibers were manufactured, including the C-LM-PVA fiber, C-LM-EP fiber, PET-LM-PVA fiber, and PET-LM-EP fiber. These LM intelligent fibers (diameter, 150-600 μm) were demonstrated with a high conductivity of 7.839 × 10 S·m. The changes in resistance in different torsion directions were measured, and these smart LM fibers could also be used as electrical heaters or thermoelectric generators, which released heat (36-36.9 °C/1-1.5 V) into the environment. Then, these multifunctional LM fibers were applied as high-performance strain sensors and bending sensors. These flexible LM conductive fibers could be successfully utilized in intelligent wearable fabrics and were expected to be widely utilized in artificial muscle and sensor fields.
高性能和智能纤维是未来可穿戴电子产品不可或缺的组成部分。这项工作主要展示了具有三种核壳结构的柔性智能液态金属（LM）纤维的制备。一种超薄（10 - 50μm）、导电且高度柔性的液态金属沿着纤维芯[碳/聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（C/PET）——150 - 500μm]的纤维方向沉积，然后沉积在聚合物保护层[聚乙烯醇/环氧树脂（PVA/EP）——10μm]上。制造了四种液态金属智能纤维，包括C - LM - PVA纤维、C - LM - EP纤维、PET - LM - PVA纤维和PET - LM - EP纤维。这些液态金属智能纤维（直径为150 - 600μm）具有7.839×10 S·m的高电导率。测量了不同扭转方向的电阻变化，这些智能液态金属纤维还可以用作电加热器或热电发电机，向环境释放热量（36 - 36.9°C/1 - 1.5V）。然后，这些多功能液态金属纤维被用作高性能应变传感器和弯曲传感器。这些柔性液态金属导电纤维可以成功应用于智能可穿戴织物，有望在人工肌肉和传感器领域得到广泛应用。
