With the rise of smart wearable devices, People are committed to developing intelligent textiles with perception functions similar to human skin. however, so far, Capable of perceiving external dangers, Intelligent sensing textiles with specific recognition and accurate positioning of human finger touch still need to be realized.

To achieve this goal, Professor Zhang Yingying's team from the Department of Chemistry of Tsinghua University has prepared silk based ionic hydrogel with excellent mechanical and electrical properties (SIH) fibre, And based on this, an intelligent perception textile was designed, This textile can quickly respond to external hazards, Like a fire, Water immersion and sharp object scratches, To protect the human body/Robots are protected from harm; at the same time, We also designed a system that can specifically recognize, Perceived textiles that can accurately locate human finger touch, Make it usable as a flexible wearable human-machine interaction interface, To assist people in conveniently controlling remote terminals. Prepared by continuous wet spinning and solvent exchange SIH fibre, Due to its semi crystalline structure inside, High orientation structure and addition of ionic liquids, And it has excellent fracture strength (55 MPa) And extensibility (530%) , And stable and excellent conductivity (0. 45 S: m–1) . The fabric designed based on this fiber has shown significant application potential in fields such as intelligent wearable devices and flexible human-machine interaction interfaces. 4 the moon 17 sun, The study is titled "Intelligent perceptual textiles based on ionic-conductive and strong silk fibers" The paper was published in "Nature Communications" upper.

The author used silk fibroin extracted from silkworm cocoons to prepare spinning solution, And the regenerated silk fiber was prepared by continuous wet spinning method. Pass the fiber through an ionic liquid ([Emim]BF4) , Solution of glycerol and water for solvent exchange, Silk based ionic hydrogel was prepared (SIH) fibre. This fiber exhibits good flexibility, Transparency and Weavability. And based on good conductivity, Flexible transparent electrodes that can be used as electroluminescent devices.

Through thermogravimetric analysis, Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) Confirmed by infrared spectroscopy[Emim]BF4 Evenly distributed in SIH In fibers. Located in the thermogravimetric curve 350℃The weight loss is attributed to[Emim]BF4. EDS Elements in the diagram F Attributable to[Emim]BF4. Located in the infrared spectrum 1169 cm–1 The peak at can be attributed to[Emim]+Within the ring C−N−C Asymmetric vibration. at the same time, Infrared spectroscopy and polarizing microscope images confirm SIH Semicrystalline structure and high orientation structure of fibers.

SIH Fibers exhibit excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Its tensile strength and elongation at break reach 4 MPa and 530%. And further stretching processing (Before solvent exchange) It can increase its tensile strength to 55 MPa, Compared with the previously reported hydrogel fiber (＜10 MPa) Several times higher. Its ionic conductivity can reach 0. 45 S: m–1, And in the placement 3 After the week or under various mechanical stimuli (Press, bend, stretch) Can maintain stability below.

The author explored SIH Potential application of fibers in hazard aware smart textiles. By SIH Fiber integration into commercial gloves, Designed an intelligent protective glove for bionic robotic arms. When exposed to hazardous conditions (fire, Water and sharp objects) down-time, Intelligent gloves will generate characteristic electrical signals, To accurately identify these hazards.

further, The author uses SIH Fiber design allows for specific recognition, Accurately locate fibers and fabrics touched by human hands. Firstly, prepared SIH Fiber based fabric: Single root SIH Fiber integration into commercial fabrics, Or weave it into flat weave fabric. Through circuit system design, Can specifically recognize and accurately locate the location or area touched by human hands, This makes it different from contact with any object/Piezoresistive or capacitive sensing fabrics that respond to pressing. When people wear SIH When it comes to fabrics made of fibers, Remote terminals can be controlled by touching them.