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Polymers
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Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition
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Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 3404

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiyong Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
Interests: flexible textile electronics; printing electronics on textiles; design and formation technology of specialized yarn and woven fabric
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hong Hong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, China
Interests: UV nano-silver conductive ink; wearable RFID tags; textile-based electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to launch the second edition of this Special Issue of the journal Polymers, “Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition”.

The ever-growing demand for portable and wearable electronics has driven considerable interest in smart textiles. In terms of their characteristics of flexibility, washability, and durability, smart textiles are excellent candidates to deliver electronic functions, such as sensing, healthcare monitoring, radio frequency identification, and energy harvesting, to each part of the human body via the integration of electronic devices into textiles. Smart textile sources are abundant and have a range of material types and manufacturing methods—from functional polymers/inks to fibers/yarn/fabric-like structures, and from traditional approaches to one-step coating and printing technology. Innovation solutions are necessary to ensure that smart textiles achieve electrical stability in environmental conditions and have enough durability against mechanical forces. In recent years, the number of publications related to smart textiles has increased, suggesting the importance and impact of smart textiles in the flexible electronics field. 

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality original research works and specialized review articles on the synthesis, characterization, and application of polymeric textiles to provide comprehensive coverage of this dynamic interdisciplinary field.

Dr. Jiyong Hu
Dr. Hong Hong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • textronics
  • energy harvesting
  • smart textile material
  • textile computation
  • interactive textiles
  • structure
  • manufacturing
  • aging
  • measurement
  • polymer technology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5287 KiB  
Article
Humidity- and Temperature-Sensing Properties of 2D-Layered Tungsten Di-Selenide (2H-WSe2) Electroconductive Coatings for Cotton-Based Smart Textiles
by Valentina Trovato, Rajashree Konar, Eti Teblum, Paolo Lazzaroni, Valerio Re, Giuseppe Rosace and Gilbert Daniel Nessim
Polymers 2025, 17(6), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17060752 - 12 Mar 2025
Viewed by 634
Abstract
Electroconductive textiles (e-Textiles) are vital in developing wearable sensors that preserve the comfort and characteristics of textiles. Among two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), considered a promising option for sensor applications, tungsten di-selenide (WSe2) homostructures have been used as humidity- and [...] Read more.
Electroconductive textiles (e-Textiles) are vital in developing wearable sensors that preserve the comfort and characteristics of textiles. Among two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), considered a promising option for sensor applications, tungsten di-selenide (WSe2) homostructures have been used as humidity- and temperature-sensing materials for developing e-textiles, as mentioned in a first-of-its-kind report. Exfoliated chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown 2H-WSe2 nanosheets were dispersed in hydroalcoholic solutions using an amino-functionalized silane to improve dispersion. Acrylic thickener was added to create 2H-WSe2-based pastes, which were applied onto cotton using the knife-over-roll technique to obtain thin, flexible electroconductive coatings on textiles. Various characterization techniques confirmed the even distribution of 2D-WSe2-based coatings on fabrics and the maintenance of textile comfort and wearability. The conductivity of coated fabrics was measured at room temperature and ranged between 2.9 × 108 and 1.6 × 109 Ω sq−1. The WSe2-based textile sensors functioned well as resistance humidity detectors within 30–90% relative humidity (RH), revealing good repeatability and sensitivity after multiple exposure cycles. To a lesser extent, WSe2-based textile sensors act as temperature detectors within 20–60 °C with limited repeatability. The 2D-based textiles exhibited a quadratic dependence of resistance on temperature and a characteristic thermal hysteresis. This proposed strategy marks a significant milestone in developing scalable and flexible 2D TMD-based detectors with great potential for wearable sensing devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition)
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12 pages, 4448 KiB  
Article
Stretchable Thermochromic Fluorescent Fibers Based on Self-Crystallinity Phase Change for Smart Wearable Displays
by Yongmei Guo, Zixi Hu, Luyao Zhan, Yongkun Liu, Luping Sun and Ying Ma
Polymers 2024, 16(24), 3575; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16243575 - 21 Dec 2024
Viewed by 900
Abstract
Smart fibers with tunable luminescence properties, as a new form of visual output, present the potential to revolutionize personal living habits in the future and are receiving more and more attention. However, a huge challenge of smart fibers as wearable materials is their [...] Read more.
Smart fibers with tunable luminescence properties, as a new form of visual output, present the potential to revolutionize personal living habits in the future and are receiving more and more attention. However, a huge challenge of smart fibers as wearable materials is their stretching capability for seamless integration with the human body. Herein, stretchable thermochromic fluorescent fibers are prepared based on self-crystallinity phase change, using elastic polyurethane (PU) as the fiber matrix, to meet the dynamic requirements of the human body. The switching fluorescence-emitting characteristic of the fibers is derived from the reversible conversion of the dispersion/aggregation state of the fluorophore coumarin 6 (C6) and the quencher methylene blue (MB) in the phase-change material hexadecanoic acid (HcA) during heating/cooling processes. Considering the important role of phase-change materials, thermochromic fluorescent dye is encapsuled in the solid state via the piercing–solidifying method to avoid the dissolution of HcA by the organic solvent of the PU spinning solution and maintain excellent thermochromic behavior in the fibers. The fibers obtained by wet spinning exhibit good fluorescent emission contrast and reversibility, as well as high elasticity of 800% elongation. This work presents a strategy for constructing stretchable smart luminescence fibers for human–machine interaction and communications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition)
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10 pages, 1098 KiB  
Article
Piezoelectric Outputs of Electrospun PVDF Web as Full-Textile Sensor at Different Mechanical Excitation Frequencies
by Fenye Meng and Jiyong Hu
Polymers 2024, 16(12), 1728; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16121728 - 18 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1198
Abstract
With the increasing application of electrospun PVDF webs in piezoelectric sensors and energy-harvesting devices, it is crucial to understand their responses under complex mechanical excitations. However, the dependence of the piezoelectric effect on mechanical excitation properties is not fully comprehended. This study aims [...] Read more.
With the increasing application of electrospun PVDF webs in piezoelectric sensors and energy-harvesting devices, it is crucial to understand their responses under complex mechanical excitations. However, the dependence of the piezoelectric effect on mechanical excitation properties is not fully comprehended. This study aims to investigate the piezoelectric output of randomly oriented electrospun PVDF nanofiber webs fabricated through different electrospinning processes at various mechanical excitation frequencies. The electrospun PVDF web was sandwiched between two textile electrodes, and its piezoelectric output as a full-textile sensor was measured across a frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. The experimental results revealed that the piezoelectric output of the electrospun PVDF web exhibited a nearly linear increase at excitation frequencies below 1.0 Hz and then reached an almost constant value thereafter up to 10 Hz, which is different from the hybrid PVDF or its copolymer web. Furthermore, the dependency of the piezoelectric output on the excitation frequency was found to be influenced by the specific electrospinning process employed, which determined the crystalline structure of electrospun PVDF nanofibers. These findings suggest that determining an appropriate working frequency for randomly oriented electrospun PVDF nanofiber webs is essential before practical implementation, and the piezoelectric response mode in different mechanical activation frequency ranges can be used to detect different human physiological behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Smart Textiles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application, 2nd Edition)
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