Flame‐retardant, flexible, and breathable smart humidity sensing fabrics based on hydrogels for respiratory monitoring and non‐contact sensing
Jinglan Yang,
Limin Rong,
Wenxi Huang,
Zixuan Wu,
Qiongling Ding,
He Zhang,
Yuanqing Lin,
Fan Li,
Chunwei Li,
Bo‐Ru Yang,
Kai Tao,
Jin Wu
Affiliations
Jinglan Yang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Limin Rong
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Wenxi Huang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Zixuan Wu
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Qiongling Ding
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
He Zhang
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering (SCUT), Ministry of Education South China University of Technology Guangzhou China
Yuanqing Lin
Department of Otolaryngology The First Affiliated Hospital Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Fan Li
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Chunwei Li
Department of Otolaryngology The First Affiliated Hospital Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Bo‐Ru Yang
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Kai Tao
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Systems for Aerospace Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an China
Jin Wu
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology School of Electronics and Information Technology Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
Abstract Smart sensing fabrics are becoming increasingly attractive in the emerging wearable areas of medical and military so far. Here, for the first time, we present a smart humidity sensing fabric (SHSF) based on a moisture‐sensitive polyacrylamide hydrogel for respiratory monitoring and non‐contact sensing. Fabricated by in situ cross‐linking of the hydrogel precursors on the fibers of the fabric, the flexible SHSF shows excellent sensitivity, outstanding flame retardance, air permeability, water retention capacity, and stability after treatment with lithium bromide solution. Specifically, its conductance increases more than 311 times as humidity increased from 11% to 98%. Besides, the humidity sensor features good repeatability and the ability to work normally under folding due to its flexible nature. As a clothing material, hydrogel–fabric composite exhibits 4.3 times the burning time compared to cotton fabric, illustrating better flame retardance. The SHSF is used to monitor human breathing and non‐contact finger approaching in real time, demonstrating its flexibility in practical applications. This work provides strategies for preparing high‐performance, flame‐retardant SHSF for emerging wearable electronic devices.
