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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 57214

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Prof. Dr. George K. Stylios

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Research Institute for Flexible Materials, School of Textiles and Design, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Interests: smart textile materials; technical and performance materials; filtration; nanotextiles; wearable sensors and devices; textile mechanics; design/technology; intelligent manufacturing; robotics and AI
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Dear Colleagues,

This is a highly focused special journal issue dedicated to novel SMART textiles which aims to promote this life-changing discipline by providing a platform for dissemination, networking, discussion, and debate. The sensing/adapting/responding, multi-functionality, low energy, small size and weight, ease of forming, and low-cost attributes of SMART Textiles and their multidisciplinary scope offer numerous end uses in medical, sports and fitness, military, fashion, automotive, aerospace, built environment, and energy industries. The quest for these new and high-value materials crosses scientific boundaries, redefines material science, design, and engineering, and finds new uses. As such, SMART textiles are particularly important to quality of life and in sustaining energy and our environment.

I invite the community to support Materials (IF 2.654) in this timely initiative by submitting new and ground-breaking papers that will constitute the roadmap of our future research.

Prof. Dr. George K. Stylios
Guest Editor

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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.

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Keywords

textile sensors
e-textiles
shape/colour/phase changing
targeted delivery
pshychotextiles
biomimetic
energy harvesting
self-regulating
multifunctionality
nanotextiles

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 179 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Novel Smart Textiles

by George K. Stylios

Materials 2020, 13(4), 950; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040950 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4902

Abstract

The sensing/adapting/responding, multifunctionality, low energy, small size and weight, ease of forming, and low-cost attributes of SMART textiles and their multidisciplinary scope offer numerous end uses in medical, sports and fitness, military, fashion, automotive, aerospace, built environment, and energy industries. The research and development for these new and high-value materials crosses scientific boundaries, redefines material science design and engineering, and enhances quality of life and our environment. “Novel SMART Textiles” is a focused special issue that reports the latest research of this field and facilitates dissemination, networking, discussion, and debate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

Research

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18 pages, 5964 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Concept of Psychotextiles; Interactions between Changing Patterns and the Human Visual Brain, by a Novel Composite SMART Fabric

by George K. Stylios and Meixuan Chen

Materials 2020, 13(3), 725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030725 - 05 Feb 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2996

Abstract

A new SMART fabric concept is reported in which visual changes of the material are designed to influence different human emotions. This is achieved by developing a novel electrochromic composite yarn, knitted into pattern-changing fabrics, which has high response in temperature change and uniform contrast. The influence of these pattern-changing effects on the response of the human visual brain is investigated further by using event-related potential (ERP). Four SMART pattern-changing fabric pairs were used in this experiment. Each fabric presents two patterns interactively with different, but complementary or opposing, pattern attributes. 20 participants took part in the experiment, in which they were exposed to the patterns, while their visual brain activities were recorded. Comparisons of the three prominent ERP components; P1, N1, and P2 that correspond to the two patterns of each fabric have shown significant differences in the latency and amplitude of these components. These differences show that patterns and pattern-changing cause different visual impacts and that these changes influence our level of attention and processing effort. The study concludes that with the pattern changing ability of these thermochromic hybrid materials we can create designs with attributes that can directly manipulate user emotions, which we like to call ‘psychotextiles’. Our study also poses much wider questions of our image processing process in relation to design and art. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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15 pages, 1032 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Textile Pixels: The Characterisation of Temporal and Spatial Thermal Development

by Adriana Stöhr, Eva Lindell, Li Guo and Nils-Krister Persson

Materials 2019, 12(22), 3747; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12223747 - 14 Nov 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2221

Abstract

This study introduces the concept of a thermal textile pixel, a spatially and temporally defined textile structure that shows spatial and temporal thermal contrast and can be used in the context of thermal communication. A study was performed investigating (a) in-plane and (b) out-of-plane thermal signal behaviour for knitted structures made of three different fibre types; namely, polyamide, wool, and metal containing Shieldex yarn, and two different knitting structures: plain knit and terry knit. The model thermal source was a Peltier element. For (a), a thermography set-up was used to monitor the spatial development of thermal contrast, and for (b), an arrangement with thermocouple measuring temperature development over time. Results show that the use of conductive materials such as Shieldex is unnecessary for the plain knit if only heating is required, whereas such use significantly improves performance for the terry knit structures. The findings demonstrate that the textile pixel is able to spatially and temporally focus thermal signals, thereby making it viable for use as an interface for thermal communication devices. Having well-defined thermal textile pixels opens up potential for the development of matrices for more complex information conveyance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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18 pages, 10081 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of the Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Elastic Textile/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Electronics at Quasi-Static or Cyclic Mechanical Loads

by Christian Dils, Lukas Werft, Hans Walter, Michael Zwanzig, Malte von Krshiwoblozki and Martin Schneider-Ramelow

Materials 2019, 12(21), 3599; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12213599 - 01 Nov 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4769

Abstract

In the last decade, interest in stretchable electronic systems that can be bent or shaped three-dimensionally has increased. The application of these systems is that they differentiate between two states and derive there from the requirements for the materials used: once formed, but static or permanently flexible. For this purpose, new materials that exceed the limited mechanical properties of thin metal layers as the typical printed circuit board conductor materials have recently gained the interest of research. In this work, novel electrically conductive textiles were used as conductor materials for stretchable circuit boards. Three different fabrics (woven, knitted and nonwoven) made of silver-plated polyamide fibers were investigated for their mechanical and electrical behavior under quasi-static and cyclic mechanical loads with simultaneous monitoring of the electrical resistance. Thereto, the electrically conductive textiles were embedded into a thermoplastic polyurethane dielectric matrix and structured by laser cutting into stretchable conductors. Based on the characterization of the mechanical and electrical material behavior, a life expectancy was derived. The results are compared with previously investigated stretchable circuit boards based on thermoplastic elastomer and meander-shaped conductor tracks made of copper foils. The microstructural changes in the material caused by the applied mechanical loads were analyzed and are discussed in detail to provide a deep understanding of failure mechanisms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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18 pages, 3951 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterisation of Electrical and Stiffness Properties of Conductive Textile Coatings with Metal Flake-Shaped Fillers

by Veronica Malm, Fernando Seoane and Vincent Nierstrasz

Materials 2019, 12(21), 3537; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12213537 - 29 Oct 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2314

Abstract

Two conductive formulations containing different types of micron-sized metal flakes (silver-coated copper (Cu) and pure silver (Ag)) were characterised and used to form highly electrically conductive coatings (conductors) on plain and base-coated woven fabrics, the latter in an encapsulated construction. With e-textiles as the intended application, the fabric stiffness, in terms of flexural stiffness and sheet resistance (R_sh), after durability testing (laundering and abrasion) was investigated and related to user friendliness and long-term performance. Bare and encapsulated conductors with increasing amounts of deposited solids were fabricated by adjusting the knife coating parameters, such as the coating gap height (5, 20, 50, and 200 μm), which reduced the R_sh, as determined by four-point probe (4PP) measurements; however, this improvement was at the expense of increased flexural stiffness of the coated fabrics. The addition of a melamine derivative (MF) as a cross-linker to the Cu formulation and the encapsulation of both conductor types gave the best trade-off between durability and R_sh, as confirmed by 4PP measurements. However, the infrared camera images revealed the formation of hotspots within the bare conductor matrix, although low resistances (determined by 4PP) and no microstructural defects (determined by SEM) were detected. These results stress the importance of thorough investigation to assure the design of reliable conductors applied on textiles requiring this type of maintenance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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17 pages, 13500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Textile Stitch-Based Strain Sensor for Wearable End Users

by Orathai Tangsirinaruenart and George Stylios

Materials 2019, 12(9), 1469; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12091469 - 07 May 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 3636

Abstract

This research presents an investigation of novel textile-based strain sensors and evaluates their performance. The electrical resistance and mechanical properties of seven different textile sensors were measured. The sensors are made up of a conductive thread, composed of silver plated nylon 117/17 2-ply, 33 tex and 234/34 4-ply, 92 tex and formed in different stitch structures (304, 406, 506, 605), and sewn directly onto a knit fabric substrate (4.44 tex/2 ply, with 2.22, 4.44 and 7.78 tex spandex and 7.78 tex/2 ply, with 2.22 and 4.44 tex spandex). Analysis of the effects of elongation with respect to resistance indicated the ideal configuration for electrical properties, especially electrical sensitivity and repeatability. The optimum linear working range of the sensor with minimal hysteresis was found, and the sensor’s gauge factor indicated that the sensitivity of the sensor varied significantly with repeating cycles. The electrical resistance of the various stitch structures changed significantly, while the amount of drift remained negligible. Stitch 304 2-ply was found to be the most suitable for strain movement. This sensor has a wide working range, well past 50%, and linearity (R² is 0.984), low hysteresis (6.25% ΔR), good gauge factor (1.61), and baseline resistance (125 Ω), as well as good repeatability (drift in R² is −0.0073). The stitch-based sensor developed in this research is expected to find applications in garments as wearables for physiological wellbeing monitoring such as body movement, heart monitoring, and limb articulation measurement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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21 pages, 6477 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vehiculation of Active Principles as a Way to Create Smart and Biofunctional Textiles

by Manuel J. Lis Arias, Luisa Coderch, Meritxell Martí, Cristina Alonso, Oscar García Carmona, Carlos García Carmona and Fabricio Maesta

Materials 2018, 11(11), 2152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11112152 - 01 Nov 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3951

Abstract

In some specific fields of application (e.g., cosmetics, pharmacy), textile substrates need to incorporate sensible molecules (active principles) that can be affected if they are sprayed freely on the surface of fabrics. The effect is not controlled and sometimes this application is consequently neglected. Microencapsulation and functionalization using biocompatible vehicles and polymers has recently been demonstrated as an interesting way to avoid these problems. The use of defined structures (polymers) that protect the active principle allows controlled drug delivery and regulation of the dosing in every specific case. Many authors have studied the use of three different methodologies to incorporate active principles into textile substrates, and assessed their quantitative behavior. Citronella oil, as a natural insect repellent, has been vehicularized with two different protective substances; cyclodextrine (CD), which forms complexes with it, and microcapsules of gelatin-arabic gum. The retention capability of the complexes and microcapsules has been assessed using an in vitro experiment. Structural characteristics have been evaluated using thermogravimetric methods and microscopy. The results show very interesting long-term capability of dosing and promising applications for home use and on clothes in environmental conditions with the need to fight against insects. Ethyl hexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC) and gallic acid (GA) have both been vehicularized using two liposomic-based structures: Internal wool lipids (IWL) and phosphatidylcholine (PC). They were applied on polyamide and cotton substrates and the delivery assessed. The amount of active principle in the different layers of skin was determined in vitro using a Franz-cell diffusion chamber. The results show many new possibilities for application in skin therapeutics. Biofunctional devices with controlled functionality can be built using textile substrates and vehicles. As has been demonstrated, their behavior can be assessed using in vitro methods that make extrapolation to their final applications possible. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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20 pages, 7104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Area Evaluation of Electrically Conductive Polymer-Based Textiles

by Lukas Vojtech, Marek Neruda, Tomas Reichl, Karel Dusek and Cristina De la Torre Megías

Materials 2018, 11(10), 1931; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11101931 - 10 Oct 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2514

Abstract

In this paper, the surface area of coated polymer-based textiles, i.e., copper and nickel plated woven polyester fabric, copper and acrylic coated woven polyester fabric, and copper and acrylic coated non-woven polyamide fabric, is investigated. In order to evaluate the surface area of the woven fabrics, Peirce’s geometrical model of the interlacing point and measurement using an electron microscope are used. Non-woven fabrics are evaluated using an optical method, handmade method, and MATLAB functions. An electrochemical method, based on the measurement of the resistance between two electrodes, is used for relative comparison of the effective surface area of the coated woven and non-woven fabrics. The experimental results show that the measured and calculated warp lengths do not differ within the standard deviation. The model for the surface area evaluation of the Pierce’s geometrical model for monofilament (non-fibrous) yarns is extended to multifilament yarns and to a uniform sample size. The experimental results show the increasing trend of surface area evaluation using both modeling and electrochemical methods, i.e., the surface area of the copper and acrylic coated woven Polyester fabric (PES) is the smallest surface area of investigated samples, followed by the surface area of the copper and acrylic coated non-woven fabric, and by copper and nickel plated woven PES fabric. These methods can be used for surface area evaluation of coated polymer-based textiles in the development of supercapacitors, electrochemical cells, or electrochemical catalysts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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18 pages, 11038 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Hybrid Textile Electrode for Electrocardiogram (ECG) Measurement and Motion Tracking

by Xiang An and George K. Stylios

Materials 2018, 11(10), 1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11101887 - 02 Oct 2018

Cited by 69 | Viewed by 6478

Abstract

Wearable sensors have great potential uses in personal health monitoring systems, in which textile-based electrodes are particularly useful because they are comfortable to wear and are skin and environmentally friendly. In this paper, a hybrid textile electrode for electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement and motion tracking was introduced. The hybrid textile electrode consists of two parts: A textile electrode for ECG monitoring, and a motion sensor for patient activity tracking. In designing the textile electrodes, their performance in ECG measurement was investigated. Two main influencing factors on the skin-electrode impedance of the electrodes were found: Textile material properties, and electrode sizes. The optimum textile electrode was silver plated, made of a high stitch density weft knitted conductive fabric and its size was 20 mm × 40 mm. A flexible motion sensor circuit was designed and integrated within the textile electrode. Systematic measurements were performed, and results have shown that the hybrid textile electrode is capable of recording ECG and motion signals synchronously, and is suitable for ambulatory ECG measurement and motion tracking applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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12 pages, 3146 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Nanomaterials Based Smart Fabrics with Selectable Characteristics for In-Line Monitoring of High-Performance Composites

by Guantao Wang, Yong Wang, Yun Luo and Sida Luo

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091677 - 11 Sep 2018

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4037

Abstract

Carbon nanomaterials have gradually demonstrated their superiority for in-line process monitoring of high-performance composites. To explore the advantages of structures, properties, as well as sensing mechanisms, three types of carbon nanomaterials-based fiber sensors, namely, carbon nanotube-coated fibers, reduced graphene oxide-coated fibers, and carbon fibers, were produced and used as key sensing elements embedded in fabrics for monitoring the manufacturing process of fiber-reinforced polymeric composites. Detailed microstructural characterizations were performed through SEM and Raman analyses. The resistance change of the smart fabric was monitored in the real-time process of composite manufacturing. By systematically analyzing the piezoresistive performance, a three-stage sensing behavior has been achieved for registering resin infiltration, gelation, cross-linking, and post-curing. In the first stage, the incorporation of resin expands the packing structure of various sensing media and introduces different levels of increases in the resistance. In the second stage, the concomitant resin shrinkage dominates the resistance attenuation after reaching the maximum level. In the last stage, the diminished shrinkage effect competes with the disruption of the conducting network, resulting in continuous rising or depressing of the resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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20 pages, 5321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Woven Fabrics with High Electrical Conductivity: Complete Derivation and Verification of Analytical Model

by Marek Neruda and Lukas Vojtech

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1657; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091657 - 07 Sep 2018

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5361

Abstract

In this paper, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of woven fabrics with high electrical conductivity is investigated. Electromagnetic interference-shielding woven-textile composite materials were developed from a highly electrically conductive blend of polyester and the coated yarns of Au on a polyamide base. A complete analytical model of the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the materials with apertures is derived in detail, including foil, material with one aperture, and material with multiple apertures (fabrics). The derived analytical model is compared for fabrics with measurement of real samples. The key finding of the research is that the presented analytical model expands the shielding theory and is valid for woven fabrics manufactured from mixed and coated yarns with a value of electrical conductivity equal to and/or higher than σ = 244 S/m and an excellent electromagnetic shielding effectiveness value of 25–50 dB at 0.03–1.5 GHz, which makes it a promising candidate for application in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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11 pages, 8414 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spectral Analysis and Parameter Identification of Textile-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

by László Juhász and Irén Juhász Junger

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1623; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091623 - 05 Sep 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2948

Abstract

Linearized equivalent electrical-circuit representation of dye-sensitized solar cells is helpful both for the better understanding of the physical processes in the cell as well as for various optimizations of the cells. White-box and grey-box modelling approaches are well-known and they are widely used for standard cell types. However, in the case of new cell types or the lack of deep knowledge of the cell’s physic such approaches may not be applicable immediately. In this article a black-box approach for such cases is presented applied together with spectral analysis. The spectral analysis and the black-box approach were as first validated with a standard glass-based dye-sensitized solar cell and thereafter applied for the characterization of a new type of textile-based dye-sensitized solar cells. Although there are still improvement potentials, the results are encouraging and the authors believe that the black-box method with spectral analysis may be used particularly for new types of dye-sensitized solar cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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13 pages, 3017 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Electrospun Nanofiber Mat-Based Counter Electrodes

by Irén Juhász Junger, Daria Wehlage, Robin Böttjer, Timo Grothe, László Juhász, Carsten Grassmann, Tomasz Blachowicz and Andrea Ehrmann

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1604; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091604 - 04 Sep 2018

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4445

Abstract

Textile-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can be created by building the necessary layers on a textile fabric or around fibers which are afterwards used to prepare a textile layer, typically by weaving. Another approach is using electrospun nanofiber mats as one or more layers. In this work, electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats coated by a conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiopene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) were used to produce the counter electrodes for half-textile DSSCs. The obtained efficiencies were comparable with the efficiencies of pure glass-based DSSCs and significantly higher than the efficiencies of DSSCs with cotton based counter electrodes. The efficiency could be further increased by increasing the number of PEDOT:PSS layers on the counter electrode. Additionally, the effect of the post treatment of the conductive layers by HCl, acetic acid, or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the DSSC efficiencies was investigated. Only the treatment by HCl resulted in a slight improvement of the energy-conversion efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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8 pages, 1886 KiB

Open AccessArticle

E-Textile Embroidered Metamaterial Transmission Line for Signal Propagation Control

by Bahareh Moradi, Raul Fernández-García and Ignacio Gil

Materials 2018, 11(6), 955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11060955 - 05 Jun 2018

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4184

Abstract

In this paper, the utilization of common fabrics for the manufacturing of e-textile metamaterial transmission lines is investigated. In order to filter and control the signal propagation in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) range along the e-textile, a conventional metamaterial transmission line was compared with embroidered metamaterial particles. The proposed design was based on a transmission line loaded with one or several split-ring resonators (SRR) on a felt substrate. To explore the relations between physical parameters and filter performance characteristics, theoretical models based on transmission matrices’ description of the filter constituent components were proposed. Excellent agreement between theoretical prediction, electromagnetic simulations, and measurement were found. Experimental results showed stop-band levels higher than −30 dB for compact embroidered metamaterial e-textiles. The validated results confirmed embroidery as a useful technique to obtain customized electromagnetic properties, such as filtering, on wearable applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Smart Textiles)

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