Wearable Multifunctional Graphene‐Based Aerogel/Spacer Fabric Composites for Sensing and Impact Protection

Abstract

textile-based protective equipment such as knee and elbow pads and wrist guards with sensing performance can not only ensure comfort and freedom of movement but can also monitor human health and record exercise data in real time. Therefore, an investigation of textile-based smart materials with sensing and impact protection is desirable.Smart fabrics with sensing properties have been of interest to researchers in recent years because they are flexible, lightweight, comfortable, and breathable. [4] Various sensing mechanisms based on capacitive, resistive, or piezoelectric measurements have been used to develop smart fabric sensors. [5] Textile-based pressure sensors have also been proposed for a variety of applications, including wearable health monitors, intelligent homecare devices, and human motion detectors. [6] However, most of the fabrics currently used in textilebased smart sensors are 2D, and usually cannot be used for simultaneous impact protection. However, 3D fabrics can be used as substrates for textile-based sensors because they have excellent compression properties. Some 3D spacer fabric-based sensors have been developed in recent years. Conducting materials, such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate, [7] carbon nanotubes, [8] and carbon black, [1] are often used to modify spacer fabrics for textile-based sensor devices. Some researchers have also sandwiched a spacer fabric between two separate layers. The layers include passive antennae and ferrite film units, [9] or single-walled carbon nanotubes/silver paste electrode layers, [10] which produce a difference in inductance. Although some progress has been made in the research of 3D smart fabrics, several critical issues have yet to be addressed. These include limited functionality, complex manufacturing processes, and a lack of systematic research on simultaneous sensing and impact protection.Herein, we combined a 3D spacer fabric and a graphenebased aerogel for the first time to fabricate a multifunctional composite that overcomes the poor mechanical properties of graphene-based aerogels and the nonconducting properties of spacer fabrics. We will demonstrate a simple method comprising filling the spacer fabric with the graphene-based aerogel to produce a conductive composite. The spacer fabric confers impact protection. Therefore, the obtained 3D spacer fabric composite is multifunctional and has broader applicability. We successfully demonstrated a strain/temperature sensor based on the 3D spacer fabric composite that is thermally insulating A multifunctional composite composed of a spacer fabric and a porous graphene-based aerogel is proposed for sensing and impact protection applications. The combination of the mechanical properties of the spacer fabric and the electrical properties of the graphene-based aerogel provides a versatile composite material with a strain sensitivity of 1.48, a temperature sensitivity of −0.004 °C−1 , and a protection factor of 45%. The material is also lightweight, hydrophobic, and thermally in...

Direct ink writing of a graphene/CNT/silicone composite strain sensor with a near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance

“…[6][7][8] Generally, the temperature disturbance of service environments could significantly affect the reliability and sensitivity of the sensor device, thus, limiting the practical applications of sensors. [9][10][11] Owing to the inevitable diurnal temperature variation in daily use, it is essential to develop wearable strain sensors with a near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). [12][13][14] However, to the best of our knowledge, wearable strain sensors with near-zero TCRs are rarely reported.…”

Biocompatible Material‐Based Flexible Biosensors: From Materials Design to Wearable/Implantable Devices and Integrated Sensing Systems

“…Compared with hydrogels, aerogels show lower density and high porosity, which improves their maneuverability and allows them to serve as fillers. [168] Wang et al [169] filled the spacer fabric with graphene-based aerogel to create a composite fabric with a 3D structure. The composite's resistance decreased as the temperature rose, exhibiting NTC behavior and having a highly linear thermal response between 32 and 114 °C (Figure 17g).…”

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 169 ] Copyright 2022, Wiley‐VCH. h) Left: structure diagram of a protein‐based thermal management sensor array.…”

“…[ 168 ] Wang et al. [ 169 ] filled the spacer fabric with graphene‐based aerogel to create a composite fabric with a 3D structure. The composite's resistance decreased as the temperature rose, exhibiting NTC behavior and having a highly linear thermal response between 32 and 114 °C (Figure 17g).…”

Design and characterization of multi-functional ternary composites with a hierarchically porous and filled-microperforated plate structure

“…Wang et al. 25 compounded spacer fabric and graphene aerogel to prepare a composite that could reduce impact damage. Li et al.…”