3D/4D printed versatile fibre-based wearables for embroidery, AIE-chemosensing, and unidirectional draining

Abstract

<p>Fibre-based wearables for embroidery, chemosensing, and biofluid's unidirectional draining with good flexibility, tunability, and designability drive technological advance. However, synthetic polymer fibres are non-degradable, threatening the environment and human health. Herein, we have developed versatile microfibre-based wearables by combining many advantages in one platform of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and melt electrowriting strategy. Diverse potential applications of PLA wearables are achieved by flexibly designing their printing files, components and structures. Three-dimensional printing files are generated from two-dimensional images to fabricate ‘embroidery-like’ patterns. PLA/aggregation-induced emission fluorogens (AIE) chemosensors exhibit colorimetric and fluorescent colour changes upon exposure to amine vapours. Janus PLA-cotton textiles with a hydrophobic/hydrophilic structure could facilitate unidirectional draining of sweats which is favourable for the management of temperature and humidity on the surface of skin. The proposed platform can not only broaden the design possibilities in 3D/4D printing but also offer wide potential applications for functional wearables.</p>