Silk Composite Electronic Textile Sensor for High Space Precision 2D Combo Temperature–Pressure Sensing

TLDR

Wearable electronic textiles made from natural, biocompatible, and biodegradable materials are increasingly explored for health‑care and smart‑clothing applications, and silkworm fibers—durable, thermally conductive, insulating, and biocompatible—are ideal for flexible electronics. This study presents a design and fabrication strategy for a highly flexible multimode electronic textile that integrates functionalized silkworm fiber coiled yarns with weaving technology. The textile incorporates a carbon‑nanotube/ionic‑liquid composite to achieve a temperature sensitivity of 1.23 % °C⁻¹ and uses capacitance changes at yarn cross‑points to provide pressure sensitivity of 0.136 kPa⁻¹, all fabricated via weaving. The resulting combo sensor can independently measure temperature and pressure with a position precision of 1 mm², and when applied to intelligent gloves it enables weight‑dependent pressure mapping and temperature distribution sensing.

Abstract

Abstract Wearable electronic textiles based on natural biocompatible/biodegradable materials have attracted great attention due to applications in health care and smart clothes. Silkworm fibers are durable, good heat conductors, insulating, and biocompatible, and are therefore regarded as excellent mediating materials for flexible electronics. In this paper, a strategy on the design and fabrication of highly flexible multimode electronic textiles (E‐textile) based on functionalized silkworm fiber coiled yarns and weaving technology is presented. To achieve enhanced temperature sensing performance, a mixture of carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid ([EMIM]Tf 2 N) is embedded, which displays top sensitivity of 1.23% °C −1 and stability compared with others. Furthermore, fibrous pressure sensing based on the capacitance change of each cross‐point of two yarns gives rise to highly position dependent and sensitivity sensing of 0.136 kPa −1 . Based on weaving technologies, a unique combo textile sensor, which can sense temperature and pressure independently with a position precision of 1 mm 2 , is obtained. The application to intelligent gloves endows the position dependent sensing of the weight, and temperature distribution sensing of the temperature.