(Nanowerk Spotlight) In the world of athletic performance and outdoor sports, the gear athletes wear can make or break their ability to perform. Sportswear is not just about comfort and style—it’s increasingly becoming a high-tech domain where clothing needs to protect, monitor health, and regulate temperature, all while being lightweight and durable. These demands are pushing the boundaries of textile technology, leading to innovations that could change the way athletes perform and stay safe.
The traditional approach to sportswear has largely focused on individual elements such as breathability, moisture-wicking, and, in some cases, impact protection. But this creates a tension between functionality and comfort. For instance, adding layers of protection often makes the gear bulkier and less comfortable. Moreover, integrating advanced technology into fabrics – such as sensors for monitoring heart rate or body temperature – has generally meant embedding rigid electronic components into the fabric. This reduces the flexibility and breathability of the clothing, leading to discomfort during prolonged physical activity.
Attempts to solve these problems have resulted in smart textiles – clothing that can sense and respond to environmental or physiological conditions. However, most of these designs fall short of meeting the wide range of needs athletes have. Traditional approaches fail to seamlessly integrate impact protection, health monitoring, and thermal regulation, all while maintaining comfort and durability. This gap has left the market hungry for solutions that don’t compromise one function for another.
Researchers at Nankai University have now made significant strides in addressing these challenges with the development of a material they call Smart-NT, a new type of smart textile designed specifically for sportswear. Unlike previous attempts, Smart-NT uses a sophisticated blend of materials and nanotechnology to provide personal protection, health monitoring, and temperature regulation in a lightweight, flexible, and durable fabric.
At the heart of Smart-NT is its core-shell nanofiber structure, produced using a process known as coaxial electrospinning. This process involves spinning fibers with a distinct core and outer shell, each with different properties that together provide the textile with its multifunctional capabilities. The core of each fiber is made from polyborosiloxane (PBS), a polymer that stiffens when exposed to high-impact forces, allowing the fabric to absorb and dissipate shock without adding bulk. This is a marked improvement over traditional protective materials, which rely on thick layers to achieve similar levels of impact resistance.
The outer shell of the fibers, composed of a conductive polymer (PVDF-HFP) combined with an ionic liquid ([EMIM][TFSI]), plays a critical role in the fabric’s health-monitoring capabilities. This shell layer acts as a sensor that can detect pressure changes with high sensitivity, allowing the fabric to monitor physical conditions like arterial pulse or external pressure. In real-world applications, this means that Smart-NT could be integrated into sportswear that tracks an athlete’s vital signs in real-time, providing valuable data during training or competitions without the need for bulky, rigid monitoring devices.
Design and characterization of Smart-NT. a) The schematic illustration of the materials, structure, and features of Smart-NT for sportswear. b) A photograph of large-scale Smart-NT. c) The SEM image showing a Smart-NT with a nanofiber network structure. d) The magnified SEM image of Smart-NT. Core-shell fibers were fused together through their intersection points. e) The TEM image showing a nanofiber with a core-shell structure in Smart-NT. (Image: reprinted with permission by Wiley-VCH Verlag)
The fabric’s temperature regulation is another key advancement. Outdoor athletes often contend with extreme conditions, where overheating can lead to discomfort or even heat-related health risks. Smart-NT addresses this by using its outer shell to reflect sunlight and dissipate heat, effectively cooling the wearer. Under simulated sunlight of 1 kW/m2, the textile was shown to reduce skin temperature by about 17 °C, a significant drop that could make a major difference for athletes training or competing in hot environments.
But what sets Smart-NT apart from other smart textiles on the market is its durability. The researchers subjected the fabric to rigorous testing, including 10,000 bending cycles and multiple washing cycles, and found that it maintained its impact resistance, sensing accuracy, and cooling properties throughout. This durability is essential for any textile meant for sportswear, as it needs to withstand constant movement, sweat, and wear-and-tear over time.
To demonstrate the practical potential of Smart-NT, the research team developed a prototype wrist protector using the fabric. The wristband, equipped with sensors made from Smart-NT, could monitor vital signs like pulse rate while also providing protection against impacts. In trials, a volunteer wearing the wrist protector played basketball, and the sensors successfully tracked real-time physiological data, transmitting the information wirelessly to a smartphone. Additionally, the wrist protector was subjected to high-impact forces, and the wearer’s hand remained protected, showcasing the fabric’s dual functionality of monitoring and protection.
One of the most exciting aspects of this technology is its scalability. The manufacturing process is relatively straightforward, and the materials used are not prohibitively expensive. This opens the door to mass production, making Smart-NT a promising candidate for widespread adoption in not only sportswear but also other fields where similar requirements exist, such as military uniforms, emergency response gear, or even clothing for astronauts.
While Smart-NT represents a significant leap forward in smart textile design, the researchers acknowledge that there is still room for improvement. Future developments may focus on enhancing the mechanical strength of the fabric, allowing it to perform under even more extreme conditions. By refining the material properties, this technology could eventually extend to applications beyond sportswear, offering protection and monitoring in high-risk environments, such as firefighting or space exploration.
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