Smart nanotextiles: materials and their application
Coyle, ShirleyORCID: 0000-0003-0493-8963 and Diamond, DermotORCID: 0000-0003-2944-4839
(2010)
Smart nanotextiles: materials and their application.
In:
Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology.
Elsevier, pp. 1-5.
ISBN 978-0-08-043152-9
Textiles are ubiquitous to us, enveloping our skin and
surroundings. Not only do they provide a protective
shield or act as a comforting cocoon but they also
serve esthetic appeal and cultural importance. Recent
technologies have allowed the traditional functionality
of textiles to be extended. Advances in materials
science have added intelligence to textiles and created
‘smart’ clothes.
Smart textiles can sense and react to environmental
conditions or stimuli, e.g., from mechanical, thermal,
chemical, electrical, or magnetic sources (Lam Po
Tang and Stylios 2006). Such textiles find uses in many
applications ranging from military and security to
personalized healthcare, hygiene, and entertainment.
Smart textiles may be termed ‘‘passive’’ or ‘‘active.’’ A
passive smart textile monitors the wearer’s physiology
or the environment, e.g., a shirt with in-built
thermistors to log body temperature over time. If
actuators are integrated, the textile becomes an active,
smart textile as it may respond to a particular stimulus,
e.g., the temperature-aware shirt may automatically
roll up the sleeves when body temperature rises.
The fundamental components in any smart textile
are sensors and actuators. Interconnections, power
supply, and a control unit are also needed to complete
the system. All these components must be integrated
into textiles while still retaining the usual
tactile, flexible, and comfortable properties that we
expect from a textile. Adding new functionalities to
textiles while still maintaining the look and feel of the
fabric is where nanotechnology has a huge impact on
the textile industry. This article describes current developments
in materials for smart nanotextiles and
some of the many applications where these innovative
textiles are of great benefit.