No abstract

Textile-based humidity sensors can be an important component of smart wearable electronic-textiles and have potential applications in the management of wounds, bed-wetting, and skin pathologies or for microclimate control in clothing. Here, we report a wearable textile-based humidity sensor for the first time using high strength (∼750 MPa) and ultratough (energy-to-break, 4300 J g) SWCNT/PVA filaments via a wet-spinning process. The conductive SWCNT networks in the filaments can be modulated by adjusting the intertube distance by swelling the PVA molecular chains via the absorption of water molecules. The diameter of a SWCNT/PVA filament under wet conditions can be as much as 2 times that under dry conditions. The electrical resistance of a fiber sensor stitched onto a hydrophobic textile increases significantly (by more than 220 times) after water sprayed. Textile-based humidity sensors using a 1:5 weight ratio of SWCNT/PVA filaments showed high sensitivity in high relative humidity. The electrical resistance increases by more than 24 times in a short response time of 40 s. We also demonstrated that our sensor can be used to monitor water leakage on a high hydrophobic textile (contact angle of 115.5°). These smart textiles will pave a new way for the design of novel wearable sensors for monitoring blood leakage, sweat, and underwear wetting.

graphene sheets have become a versatile platform for the fabrication of innovative hybrid materials with various functions due to their unique electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The preparation of graphene-based composites with nanoscale precision is highly important for reproducible and controllable performance through the analysis of interplay between each component. In particular, the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique is known as a simple, inexpensive, and versatile process for the fabrication of highly ordered multilayer film structures from various types of materials. The LbL structures capable of controlling nanoscale composition and architectures are achieved through the sequential adsorption of oppositely charged components by attractive forces such as electrostatic interactions. In this review, we will focus on the recent progress in graphene-based nanocomposites hybridized with various nanomaterials such as carbon nanomaterials, polymers, and inorganic nanoparticles by the LbL assembly. Multilayered graphene nanocomposites exhibit improved physical/chemical properties and superior performance compared with the individual components due to the synergistic effects in various applications including electric devices, energy storage and conversion, and biological usages.

No abstract

No abstract

Photochromic molecules have been recently adopted by many researchers for organic field-effect transistor (OFET) applications, since they offer the opportunity to achieve flexible-type ultraviolet (UV) light sensors with the advantages of organic material-based solution processes. Here, we present the novel usage of an azobenzene derivative in the gate dielectric layer of an OFET for highly sensitive and reliable UV sensing applications. Owing to the large change of capacitance caused by the reversible photoisomerization of azobenzene, the OFET device can modulate efficiently the current signal under UV and visible light. We found that the on-current was greatly amplified upon UV light irradiation with good photoresponsivity and photocurrent ratio and then fully returned to the initial state under visible light. In addition, the device shows a strongly linear relationship with the UV radiation intensity and repetitive on–off response in real-time UV sensing tests, thus being potentially applied in highly sensitive and reliable UV sensors.

Mechanically robust, flexible, and electrically conductive textiles are highly suitable for use in wearable electronic applications. In this study, highly conductive and flexible graphene/Ag hybrid fibers were prepared and used as electrodes for planar and fiber-type transistors. The graphene/Ag hybrid fibers were fabricated by the wet-spinning/drawing of giant graphene oxide and subsequent functionalization with Ag nanoparticles. The graphene/Ag hybrid fibers exhibited record-high electrical conductivity of up to 15,800 S cm−1. As the graphene/Ag hybrid fibers can be easily cut and placed onto flexible substrates by simply gluing or stitching, ion gel-gated planar transistors were fabricated by using the hybrid fibers as source, drain, and gate electrodes. Finally, fiber-type transistors were constructed by embedding the graphene/Ag hybrid fiber electrodes onto conventional polyurethane monofilaments, which exhibited excellent flexibility (highly bendable and rollable properties), high electrical performance (μh = 15.6 cm2 V−1 s−1, Ion/Ioff > 104), and outstanding device performance stability (stable after 1,000 cycles of bending tests and being exposed for 30 days to ambient conditions). We believe that our simple methods for the fabrication of graphene/Ag hybrid fiber electrodes for use in fiber-type transistors can potentially be applied to the development all-organic wearable devices.

Highly flexible and electrically-conductive multifunctional textiles are desirable for use in wearable electronic applications. In this study, we fabricated multifunctional textile composites by vacuum filtration and wet-transfer of graphene oxide films on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) textile in association with embedding Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) to improve the electrical conductivity. A flexible organic transistor can be developed by direct transfer of a dielectric/semiconducting double layer on the graphene/AgNP textile composite, where the textile composite was used as both flexible substrate and conductive gate electrode. The thermal treatment of a textile-based transistor enhanced the electrical performance (mobility = 7.2 cm2·V−1·s−1, on/off current ratio = 4 × 105, and threshold voltage = −1.1 V) due to the improvement of interfacial properties between the conductive textile electrode and the ion-gel dielectric layer. Furthermore, the textile transistors exhibited highly stable device performance under extended bending conditions (with a bending radius down to 3 mm and repeated tests over 1000 cycles). We believe that our simple methods for the fabrication of graphene/AgNP textile composite for use in textile-type transistors can potentially be applied to the development of flexible large-area electronic clothes.