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Updated: Jan 11, 2026
Strain Sensing Based on Multiscale Composite Materials Reinforced with Graphene Nanoplatelets
Published on: November 7, 2016
Robust and highly conductive silk fibroin fibers boosted by poly(ionic liquid)-mediated nanocarbon dispersion for
Yuhan Chen1, Ying Wang1, Yuan Liang1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers & Products Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Physics, Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology in Donghua University, Engineering Research Center of Technical Textiles, Ministry of Education, China.
Abstract:
Flexible electronic sensors have demonstrated significant application potential in fields such as artificial intelligence and healthcare, attracting considerable attention and research from the industry. Silk fibroin (SF) emerges as a promising candidate material for flexible electronics due to its biocompatibility, mechanical flexibility, and tunable nanostructure. However, its poor electrical conductivity limits practical applications. In this study, imidazole-based polyionic liquids (PIL) were used as an intermediate medium between silk fibroin (SF) and nanocarbon materials (NCs), successfully preparing conductive silk fibroin materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations revealed that NCs were successfully and uniformly attached to the SF surface, and PIL effectively addressed the agglomeration issue of NCs, maintaining their original morphology while reducing particle size. The resulting NCs@SF materials exhibit high electrical conductivity (1.6 mS/mm), excellent mechanical durability (95 % conductivity retention after 1000 bending cycles), and multi-response capabilities to strain, pressure, temperature, and humidity. Furthermore, due to its biocompatibility advantages, this material can be developed into wearable sensors for detecting human respiratory rate, bending angle, and laryngeal vocalization status.
