Knittable Electrochemical Yarn Muscle for Morphing Textiles

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Electrochemical Actuators

Background:

• Electrochemical artificial muscle yarns enable morphing textiles with adaptive flexibility and programmable control.
• Challenges remain in continuous yarn production and operation outside extensive electrolyte environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a continuously produced, meters-long sheath-core structured carbon nanotube (CNT)/nylon composite yarn muscle.
• To create a morphing textile using these yarn muscles for programmable motion in air.

Main Methods:

• Continuous preparation of a sheath-core structured CNT/nylon composite yarn.
• Electrochemical actuation of the CNT@nylon yarn muscle.
• Knitting the yarn muscles into a soft fabric scaffold that also acts as an electrolyte container.

Main Results:

• The CNT@nylon yarn muscle achieved a maximum contractile stroke of 26.4%, rate of 15.8% s⁻¹, and power density of 0.37 W g⁻¹, significantly outperforming pure CNT yarn muscles.
• The nylon core enhanced interaction with the electrolyte, increasing effective actuation volume.
• The resulting morphing textile demonstrated programmable multiple motion modes, including contraction and sectional bending, in air.

Conclusions:

• The developed CNT@nylon yarn muscles overcome production and operational limitations of previous artificial muscle yarns.
• This innovation enables the creation of advanced morphing textiles with enhanced performance and air-operability.
• The study paves the way for practical applications of smart textiles in various fields.