Nanosensors and Nanodevices for Smart Multifunctional Textiles

Andrea Ehrmann, Phuong Nguyen Tri, Tuan Anh Nguyen

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780128207772
• eBook ISBN: 9780128209417
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Nanotechnology has been incorporated into a wide range of garments to improve the durability of clothing / apparel and create new properties for a special end-used application. It also incorporates wearable electronics into clothing to make it smarter. Smart nano-textiles refers to the uses and integration of smart nanocoatings, nanosensors and nanodevices in multifunctional textiles, since they are both low cost and have low power consumption. Various organic and inorganic nanomaterials can be used in garments to improve their properties and create new properties such as anti-bacterial, superhydrophobic, auto-cleaning, self-cleaning, stain repellent, wrinkle-free, static eliminating, fire resistant and electrically conductive properties.This book focuses on the fundamental concepts and approaches for the preparation of smart nanotextiles, their properties, and their applications in multifarious industries, including smart garments, biomedicine, construction/building materials, energy conversion/storage, automotive/aerospace industries and agriculture.- Shows how nanotechnology is being used to be able to enhance textiles with smart properties, including anti-bacterial, superhydrophobic and auto-cleaning- Explores which nanomaterial types are most compatible with particular textile classes- Assesses the major challenges of integrating nanosensors and nanodevices into textiles

Chapter 1

Smart nanotextiles: an introduction

Andrea Ehrmann¹, Tuan Anh Nguyen² and Phuong Nguyen-Tri^3,4, ¹1Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld, Germany, ²2Institute for Tropical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam, ³3Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, University of Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, QC, Canada, ⁴4Innovations Institute in Ecomaterials, Ecoproducts and Ecoenergies Biomass Based, Trois-Rivieres, QC, Canada

Abstract

Smart textiles are structures capable of detecting, reacting, and adapting to a large number of stimuli such as electrical, magnetic, thermal, optical, acoustic, mechanical, and chemical. World consumption of technical textiles has been steadily increasing from $65 to $100 billion in 2010. World consumption of technical and smart textiles is 19.7 million tons. The ratios remain substantially the same in commercial value. But Asia shows the highest annual growth rate of 4.1%, above the world average of 3.3%. The United States and Europe have a growth rate of 2.8% in the textile industry. There are generally three generations of intelligent textiles. The first generation, of which many examples are already on the market, consists of systems whose active features are added during the final assembly step of the product. In the second generation, intelligent components are integrated during the production of the textile itself. As for third-generation smart textiles, they will carry the active elements at the heart of their fibers and yarns: these will be integrated in the extrusion or spinning stage. Researchers are working to develop this third generation that will probably not be on the market for a decade.

Keywords

Nanosensors; smart textiles; nanotechnology; nanodevices

Current garment manufacturing involves batch production. However, in the Industry 4.0, personalized/individualized garment products with low quantities can be fabricated in a smart factory. In this regard, in the Industry 4.0, garment products become more personalized, more flexible, and smarter.

Nanotextiles refer to the use of nanotechnology to enhance properties and functions of textiles. Smart textiles contain various components, such as sensors, actuators, and devices. Thus they can not only monitor the wearer but also sense and react with the ambient environment. Besides, with the supports of artificial intelligence tools (such as fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms, neural networks, and ambient-intelligence), sensor systems nowadays become smarter.

Smart nanotextiles are related to the use of nanosensors and nanodevices in textiles, by integrating them directly into textile fibers through different production stages (such as fiber-spinning level, yarn/fabric formation, or finishing stage). In addition, nanosensors offer many advantages over their microcounterparts, such as lower power consumption, high sensitivity, lower concentration of analytes, or smaller interaction distance between object and sensor.

Regarding the use of sensors in textiles, various types of sensors have been used in smart textiles (Table 1.1). Recently self-powered sensors have been developed. In this regard, the combination of nanogenerators and nanosensors is very promising for smart textile application. Nanogenerators are nanosized devices/materials applied to convert mechanical or thermal energy into electricity. Table 1.2 summarizes the various fiber/textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators.

Table 1.1

Common sensor modalities for activity recognition from body-worn sensors, and the deployment possibilities for smart textile sensing.

Sensor	Observation	Smart textile deployment	Refs.
Microphone	Social interaction recognition, speaker identification, localization by ambient sounds, and activity detection	No smart textile equivalent, but commonly available on-body through mobile phones	[1]
Accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, or inertial measurement unit	Movement patterns, orientation, or rotation of the body or limbs	No smart textile equivalent, but flexible substrates, which can be woven into garments and on which bare die sensors can be bound, highly miniaturized conventional electronics encapsulated into garments	[2,3]
Pressure	Pressure of clothing against the body, muscle activity, weight distribution, and posture characterization	Textile pressure sensor used for muscle activity detection or posture recognition	[4,5]
Temperature	Health state (e.g., fever)	Textile integrated temperature sensor	[6]
Humidity	Sweat and physical activity	Textile integrated humidity sensor	[6]
Strain	Breathing (respiration belt) and movement (elongation sensor in clothes)	Textile strain sensors for posture measurement in clothing, clothing integrated strain measurement by optic fiber	[7–10]
EMG, ECG, and EOG	Physical activity and health state (ECG), muscle (EMG), and eye (EOG) activation	Textile electrodes and dry electrodes	[11–13]

ECG, Electrocardiography; EMG, electromyography; EOG, electrooculography.

Reproduced with permission from Roggen D, et al. Chapter 12: Signal processing technologies for activity-aware smart textiles. In: Kirstein T, editor. Multidisciplinary know-how for smart textiles developers. Woodhead Publishing; 2013, Available from: https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857093530.2.329 [14], Copyright 2013 Elsevier.

Table 1.2

Summary of fiber/textile-based triboelectric n...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of Contributors
• Chapter 1. Smart nanotextiles: an introduction
• Chapter 2. Smart nanosensors for textiles: an introduction
• Chapter 3. Durability of smart electronic textiles
• Chapter 4. Nanocomposite sensors for smart textile composites
• Chapter 5. Nanogenerator-based hybrid systems for smart textiles
• Chapter 6. Smart textiles in healthcare: a summary of history, types, applications, challenges, and future trends
• Chapter 7. Smart electronic yarns and wearable fabrics for human biomonitoring
• Chapter 8. Textiles for flexible solar cells and 3D printable materials
• Chapter 9. Nanomaterials-based antibacterial textiles
• Chapter 10. Magnetic textile solid-phase extraction
• Chapter 11. Nanocarbons-based textiles for flexible energy storage
• Chapter 12. Soft capacitor fibers using conductive polymers for electronic textiles
• Chapter 13. Smart nanotextiles for application in sustainable agriculture
• Chapter 14. Application of electrospun fibers for the fabrication of high performance all-solid-state fibrous batteries
• Chapter 15. Applications of carbon-based conductive nanomaterials on e-textiles
• Chapter 16. Nanotextiles waste management: controlling of release and remediation of wastes
• Chapter 17. Ecological and sustainable smart nanotextile
• Chapter 18. Environmental impact of using nanomaterials in textiles
• Chapter 19. Current applications of smart nanotextiles and future trends
• Index