Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Silk Fibroin Based Conductive Film for Multifunctional Sensing and Energy Harvesting

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Advanced Fiber Materials Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Development of biomaterial based flexible electronics has got intensive attention owing to the potential applications in the wearable and epidermal devices. Silk fibroin, as a natural textile material with excellent performance, has been widely concerned by industry and academy. However, the property of electrical insulation limits his development in the field of flexible electronics. In this paper, a regenerated silk fibroin/carbon nanotube (RSF/CNT) conductive film has been successfully fabricated and applied in flexible capacitive-type pressure sensor and wearable triboelectric nanogenerator by a facile method. The electrical conductivity and mechanical property of RSF/CNT film was optimized by investigating with different composite ratio from 10 to 90% (WRSF/WCNT). The RSF/CNT film has a good photothermal response and electric heating performance. We furtherly demonstrated that the RSF/CNT based sensor can be used as epidermal self-powered sensor for multifunction human motion monitoring and Morse code compilation. The observed research results have shown that the RSF/CNT film has a wide range of potential application prospects in the wearable electronics field.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wen DL, Sun DH, Huang P, Huang W, Su M, Wang Y, Han MD, Kim B, Brugger J, Zhang HX, Zhang XS. Recent progress in silk fibroin-based flexible electronics. Microsyst Nanoeng 2021;7:35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Qi Y, Wang H, Wei K, Yang Y, Zheng RY, Kim IS, Zhang KQ. A review of structure construction of silk fibroin biomaterials from single structures to multi-level structures. Int J Mol Sci 2017;18:237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wu RH, Ma LY, Liu XY. From mesoscopic functionalization of silk fibroin to smart fiber devices for textile electronics and photonics. Adv Sci 2022;9:2103981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhang YF, Tu H, Wu RH, Patil A, Hou C, Lin ZF, Meng ZH, Ma LY, Yu R, Yu WD, Liu XY. Programing performance of silk fibroin superstrong scaffolds by mesoscopic regulation among hierarchical structures. Biomacromol 2020;21:4169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Shi CY, Hu F, Wu RH, Xu ZJ, Shao GW, Yu R, Liu XY. New silk road: from mesoscopic reconstruction/functionalization to flexible meso-electronics/photonics based on cocoon silk materials. Adv Mater 2021;33:2005910.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Liu Q, Meng ZH, Wu RH, Ma LY, Qiu W, Zhang HH, Zhu SH, Kong LQ, Xu ZJ, Patil A, Liu XY. A novel facile and green synthesis protocol to prepare high strength regenerated silk fibroin/SiO2 composite fiber. Fibers Polym 2019;20:2222.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ma L, Liu Q, Wu R, Meng Z, Patil A, Yu R, Yang Y, Zhu S, Fan X, Hou C, Li Y, Qiu W, Huang L, Wang J, Lin N, Wan Y, Hu J, Liu XY. From molecular reconstruction of mesoscopic functional conductive silk fibrous materials to remote respiration monitoring. Small 2020;16:2000203.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hu X, Li J, Bai Y. Fabrication of high strength graphene/regenerated silk fibroin composite fibers by wet spinning. Mater Lett 2017;194:224.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yin Z, Shi S, Liang X, Zhang M, Zheng Q, Zhang Y. Sweat-driven silk-yarn switches enabled by highly aligned gaps for air-conditioning textiles. Adv Fiber Mater 2019;1:197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhang YF, Aniruddha P, Hou C, Lu D, Qiu W, Kong LQ, Wu RH, Ma LY, Yu R, Yu WD, Liu XY. Reconstructed silk fibroin mediated smart wristband for physiological signal detection. Chem Eng J 2022;428:132362.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hou C, Zhang F, Chen CF, Zhang YF, Wu RH, Ma LY, Lin CJ, Guo WX, Liu XY. Wearable hydration and pH sensor based on protein film for healthcare monitoring. Chem Pap 2021;75:4927.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Tu H, Yu R, Lin ZF, Zhang L, Lin NB, Yu WD, Liu XY. Programing performance of wool keratin and silk fibroin composite materials by mesoscopic molecular network reconstruction. Adv Func Mater 2016;26:9032.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Neubauer VJ, Trossmann VT, Jacobi S, Dobl A, Scheibel T. Recombinant spider silk gels derived from aqueous-organic solvents as depots for drugs. Angew Chem Int Ed 2021;60:11847.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Fitzpatrick V, Martin-Moldes Z, Deck A, Torres-Sanchez R, Valat A, Cairns D, Li CM, Kaplan DL. Functionalized 3D-printed silk-hydroxyapatite scaffolds for enhanced bone regeneration with innervation and vascularization. Biomaterials 2021;276:120995.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lovett M, Cannizzaro C, Daheron L, Messmer B, Vunjak-Novakovic G, Kaplan DL. Silk fibroin microtubes for blood vessel engineering. Biomaterials 2007;28:5271.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Wu R, Ma L, Hou C, Meng Z, Guo W, Yu W, Yu R, Hu F, Liu XY. Silk composite electronic textile sensor for high space precision 2D combo temperature-pressure sensing. Small 2019;15:1901558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wu R, Kim T. Review of microfluidic approaches for fabricating intelligent fiber devices: importance of shape characteristics. Lab Chip 2021;21:1217.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Lin S, Cao L, Lv Z, Ren J, Ling S. Quantitative evaluation of pseudo strain signals caused by yarn structural deformation. Adv Fiber Mater 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-021-00101-y.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Wu R, Ma L, Patil A, Hou C, Zhu S, Fan X, Lin H, Yu W, Guo W, Liu XY. All-textile electronic skin enabled by highly elastic spacer fabric and conductive fibers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019;11:33336.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Ma LY, Wu RH, Patil A, Yi J, Liu D, Fan XW, Sheng FF, Zhang YF, Liu S, Shen S, Wang J, Wang ZL. Acid and alkali-resistant textile triboelectric nanogenerator as a smart protective suit for liquid energy harvesting and self-powered monitoring in high-risk environments. Adv Funct Mater 2021;31:2102963.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Wu RH, Ma LY, Patil AB, Hou C, Meng ZH, Zhang YF, Liu XY, Yu WD. A facile method to prepare a wearable pressure sensor based on fabric electrodes for human motion monitoring. Text Res J 2019;89:5144.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Shao GW, Yu R, Zhang X, Chen X, He FL, Zhao X, Chen NL, Ye MD, Liu XY. Making stretchable hybrid supercapacitors by knitting non-stretchable metal fibers. Adv Funct Mater 2020;30:2003153.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Chen CY, Chen LJ, Wu ZY, Guo HY, Yu WD, Du ZQ, Wang ZL. 3D double-faced interlock fabric triboelectric nanogenerator for bio-motion energy harvesting and as self-powered stretching and 3D tactile sensors. Mater Today 2020;32:84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhang YF, Chen CF, Qiu Y, Ma LY, Qiu W, Yu R, Yu WD, Liu XY. Meso-reconstruction of silk fibroin based on molecular and nano-templates for electronic skin in medical applications. Adv Funct Mater 2021;31:2100150.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Patil AB, Meng ZH, Wu RH, Ma LY, Xu ZJ, Shi CY, Qiu W, Liu Q, Zhang YF, Lin YH, Lin NB, Liu XY. Tailoring the meso-structure of gold nanoparticles in keratin-based activated carbon toward high-performance flexible sensor. Nano Micro Lett 2020;12:11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Ling SJ, Wang Q, Zhang D, Zhang YY, Mu X, Kaplan DL, Buehler MJ. Integration of stiff graphene and tough silk for the design and fabrication of versatile electronic materials. Adv Funct Mater 2018;28:1705291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Ling S, Qin Z, Li C, Huang W, Kaplan DL, Buehler MJ. Polymorphic regenerated silk fibers assembled through bioinspired spinning. Nat Commun 2017;8:1387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhang MC, Wang CY, Wang Q, Jian MQ, Zhang YY. Sheath-core graphite/silk fiber made by dry-meyer-rod-coating for wearable strain sensors. ACS Appl Mater Interface 2016;8:20894.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Wang C, Li X, Gao E, Jian M, Xia K, Wang Q, Xu Z, Ren T, Zhang Y. Carbonized silk fabric for ultrastretchable, highly sensitive, and wearable strain sensors. Adv Mater 2016;28:6640.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Wang C, Xia K, Jian M, Wang H, Zhang M, Zhang Y. Carbonized silk georgette as an ultrasensitive wearable strain sensor for full-range human activity monitoring. J Mater Chem C 2017;5:7604.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Chen LJ, Chen CY, Jin L, Guo HY, Wang AC, Ning FG, Xu QL, Du ZQ, Wang FM, Wang ZL. Stretchable negative Poisson’s ratio yarn for triboelectric nanogenerator for environmental energy harvesting and self-powered sensor. Energy Environ Sci 2021;14:955.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Chen CY, Zhang L, Ding WB, Chen LJ, Liu JK, Du ZQ, Yu WD. Woven fabric triboelectric nanogenerator for biomotion energy harvesting and as self-powered gait-recognizing socks. Energies 2020;13:4119.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Open Project Funding of the Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers and Products, Science Foundation of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (20202090-Y).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Textiles and Clothing, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830046, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyu Dong & Liyun Ma

  2. Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers and Products, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyu Dong, Ronghui Wu & Liyun Ma

  3. College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang Liu

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-Gil, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea

    Ronghui Wu

  5. College of Textile Science and Engineering (International Institute of Silk), Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, People’s Republic of China

    Sai Liu

Authors
  1. Xiaoyu Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qiang Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sai Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ronghui Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Liyun Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

XD conceived the idea under RW and LM’s supervision. XD designed the structure of the sensor structure. XD, QL and SL characterized the performance. All authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript. RW and LM supervised the work.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ronghui Wu or Liyun Ma.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 44 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dong, X., Liu, Q., Liu, S. et al. Silk Fibroin Based Conductive Film for Multifunctional Sensing and Energy Harvesting. Adv. Fiber Mater. 4, 885–893 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-022-00152-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-022-00152-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation