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An Ultrahigh-Strength Braided Smart Yarn for Wearable Individual Sensing and Protection

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Abstract

The insufficient comprehensive mechanical properties and inadequate flexibility of wearable sensors limit their body-protection capability, durability, and comfort. There are challenges in using flexible wearable devices for high-performance practical applications, especially on large scales. Here, an ultrahigh-strength ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene braided smart yarn (UBSY) has been designed and mass produced. It is based on triboelectric nanogenerators and prepared by combining commercial ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene yarn and conductive yarn with a cored biaxial braided structure. Structural parameters, including the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene yarn diameter, twist, and braiding pitch, are optimized to balance the mechanical properties and electrical outputs. The prepared UBSYs are characterized based on a range of reliable properties, including ultrahigh tensile strength (194.83 N), excellent abrasive resistance (up to 306 abrasive cycles), great hydrophobicity (water contact angle of 115.49°), acid and alkali splash resistance, and decent triboelectric outputs (1.5 V, 3.0 nA, and 0.5 nC). An intelligent weft-knitted textile wearable sensor is fabricated with UBSY using a matured flat-knitting technique, which provides excellent mechanical strength, physical protection and comfort. Furthermore, a pair of smart elbow guards have been demonstrated to highlight UBSY-based wearable sensors’ potential in outdoor sports management. In addition, equipped with a satisfactory body protective capacity against various risks and matured preparation technologies, the UBSY-based wearable sensor provides a practical solution for large-scale applications of high-performance motion sensing in complex environments.

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Acknowledgements

K.W. and Y.S. contributed equally to this study. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Science Funds of China (52373058, 11972172, 52303055), the fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2022TQ0123, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province BK20221094, the Key Science Research Project of Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Health Z202219.

Funding

This article is funded by the National Science Funds of China, 52373058, Pibo Ma, 11972172, Pibo Ma, 52303055, Chaoyu Chen, the fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, 2022TQ0123, Chaoyu Chen, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, BK20221094, Chaoyu Chen.

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Author notes

  1. Kai Wang and Yunchu Shen contributed equally to the work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Research Center of Knitting Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Textile Science and Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China

    Kai Wang, Yunchu Shen, Tairan Wang, Zixin Li, Baoping Zheng, Zhijia Dong, Gaoming Jiang, Chaoyu Chen & Pibo Ma

  2. Industrial Research Institute of Nonwovens and Technical Textiles, College of Textiles and Clothing, Qingdao University, Shandong, 266075, People’s Republic of China

    Fanggang Ning

  3. Department of Hand Surgery, Wuxi 9th People’s Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Wuxi, 214062, China

    Gang Zhao

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  1. Kai Wang
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Correspondence to Gang Zhao, Chaoyu Chen or Pibo Ma.

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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that may have influenced the work reported in this study. CYC is an editorial board member for Advanced Fiber Materials and was not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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Wang, K., Shen, Y., Wang, T. et al. An Ultrahigh-Strength Braided Smart Yarn for Wearable Individual Sensing and Protection. Adv. Fiber Mater. 6, 786–797 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-024-00385-w

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