Graphene-Based Multifunctional Textile for Sensing and Actuating

Textiles are materials that are extensively used in everyday life; textile-based sensors can, therefore, be regarded as ideal devices for a health monitor. However, previously reported textile sensors have limited prospects due to their single function or incompatibility. Traditional textile sensors generally focus on signal detection, which has not been able to be combined with an actuator to provide real-time health status feedback. Thus, to date, there are no well-established health monitoring systems based on intelligent textiles. Herein, we present a wearable batch-prepared graphene-based textile based on laser-scribing and thermal-transfer technology. Integrated with four functions of strain sensing, pressure sensing, physiological electrical sensing, and sound emitting, the GT is able to detect human body signals and transduce them to sound signals when the user is in an abnormal physical state. Moreover, the GT has high linearity for both strain and pressure sensing; the coefficients of determination exceed 99.3% and 98.2%, respectively. The performance of the device remains stable up to a pressure of 1000 kPa. The response time of the GT possession reaches as low as 85 ms at 4.2 Pa pressure. Therefore, due to their diversified functions and good performance, the research on GT is expected to extend to the fields of health monitoring, sports monitoring, and so forth.

Automated summary

Traditional textile sensors have been limited in their ability to provide real-time health status feedback due to their focus on signal detection and lack of compatibility with actuators. This has hindered the establishment of well-established health monitoring systems based on intelligent textiles.