Collaborative Interfacial Strategy for Constructing Cotton Fabrics with Flame Retardant, Strain Sensing, and
Xiaowei Su1,2, Jian Liu1,2, Qinyong Liu1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|July 18, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a new electronic textile from cotton fabric, titanium carbide MXene, and phytic acid. This durable, flame-retardant fabric offers advanced strain sensing and thermal management for wearable devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Textile Engineering
- Wearable Technology
Background:
- Wearable electronic textiles are promising but face challenges like poor durability, limited functionality, and fire hazards.
- Existing materials often lack intrinsic fabric properties and struggle with multifunctional integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a flexible, wearable electronic textile with integrated fire safety, strain sensing, and thermal management.
- To overcome limitations of current electronic textiles for enhanced performance and durability.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of C-P-M-Cotton using hydrogen bonding, electrostatic assembly, and covalent cross-linking with Ti3C2Tx MXene, phytic acid (PA), and an isocyanate-based cross-linking agent.
- Testing of conductivity, strain sensing capabilities, thermal management (electrothermal, solar, radiative heating), and flame retardancy (Limiting Oxygen Index).
Main Results:
- The C-P-M-Cotton demonstrated stable conductivity (10.5% decrease over a year) and consistent sensing performance for body signals.
- Achieved triple-mode heating (electrothermal up to 100°C, solar 59.5°C, radiative 2.9°C) and excellent flame retardancy (LOI 45.1%).
Conclusions:
- The developed C-P-M-Cotton offers a durable, multifunctional electronic textile solution.
- This work provides insights for next-generation flame-retardant wearable electronics for motion monitoring and thermal management.
