Soft Multimaterial Magnetic Fibers and Textiles

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Soft Robotics
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Magnetically responsive soft materials are key for advanced applications like soft robotics and smart textiles.
• Fabricating highly integrated magnetic fibers with extreme aspect ratios for steerable devices and textiles is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for creating long, soft, ultrastretchable, and resilient magnetic fibers.
• To demonstrate the potential of these fibers in various applications, including medical devices and functional textiles.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multimaterial thermal drawing as a fabrication platform.
• Engineered nanocomposite domains with ferromagnetic microparticles in a soft elastomeric matrix.
• Optimized filler content for a balance between magnetization and mechanical stiffness.

Main Results:

• Fabricated magnetic fibers with diameters as low as 300 µm and aspect ratios of 10^5.
• Demonstrated fibers withstanding >1000% strain, magnetically actuated, and capable of lifting 370 times their weight.
• Integrated microfluidic channels and wove fibers into conventional textiles, showing washability and shape-folding capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Multimaterial thermal drawing enables the creation of advanced magnetic fibers for next-generation soft systems.
• These magnetic fibers offer significant potential for innovation in medical textiles and soft magnetic applications.