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Strain-programmable liquid metal fibers for anti-interference electronic textiles
Xiangyang Qu1,2, Wenshang Guo1,3,4, Zixuan Zhu2
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Nature Communications
|April 7, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed strain-programmable fibers using liquid metal (LM) particles. These electronic textile fibers transform mechanical strain into a tunable feature, enabling robust wearable electronics by overcoming signal interference challenges.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Wearable Technology
Background:
- Strain-induced signal interference is a major challenge for electronic textiles in deformable environments.
- Mechanical deformation degrades signal fidelity, sensing accuracy, and energy/data transmission in smart wearables.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a strain-programmable fiber platform that utilizes mechanical strain as a tunable design feature.
- To overcome the limitations of signal interference in electronic textiles for advanced wearable applications.
Main Methods:
- Embedding liquid metal (LM) particles within a polyurethane elastomer using coaxial wet spinning.
- Precisely programming electromechanical responses (negative, hybrid, positive strain-resistance) through pre-strain and composition.
- Utilizing a hybrid parallel-series model to capture strain-induced LM particle reconfiguration.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated composite fibers with tunable strain-resistance behaviors based on LM particle reconfiguration.
- Developed bidirectional strain sensors with polarity-based digital encoding.
- Created strain-invariant circuits for reliable energy harvesting, wireless communication, and thermal management.
Conclusions:
- The programmable fiber platform offers a scalable, material-level solution to strain interference in electronic textiles.
- This approach enables high-performance, multifunctional e-textiles for next-generation wearable electronics.
- The technology transforms mechanical strain from a liability into a controllable design parameter.
