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Displays are basic building blocks of modern electronics 1 , 2 . Integrating displays into textiles offers exciting opportunities for smart electronic textiles—the ultimate goal of wearable technology, poised to change the way in which we interact with electronic devices 3 – 6 . Display textiles serve to bridge human–machine interactions 7 – 9 , offering, for instance, a real-time communication tool for individuals with voice or speech difficulties. Electronic textiles capable of communicating 10 , sensing 11 , 12 and supplying electricity 13 , 14 have been reported previously. However, textiles with functional, large-area displays have not yet been achieved, because it is challenging to obtain small illuminating units that are both durable and easy to assemble over a wide area. Here we report a 6-metre-long, 25-centimetre-wide display textile containing 5 × 10 5 electroluminescent units spaced approximately 800 micrometres apart. Weaving conductive weft and luminescent warp fibres forms micrometre-scale electroluminescent units at the weft–warp contact points. The brightness between electroluminescent units deviates by less than 8 per cent and remains stable even when the textile is bent, stretched or pressed. Our display textile is flexible and breathable and withstands repeated machine-washing, making it suitable for practical applications. We show that an integrated textile system consisting of display, keyboard and power supply can serve as a communication tool, demonstrating the system’s potential within the ‘internet of things’ in various areas, including healthcare. Our approach unifies the fabrication and function of electronic devices with textiles, and we expect that woven-fibre materials will shape the next generation of electronics. A large electronic display textile that is flexible, breathable and withstands repeated machine-washing is integrated with a keyboard and power supply to create a wearable, durable communication tool.

Fabrics—materials consisting of layers of woven fibres—are some of the most important materials in everyday life 1 . Previous nanoscale weaves 2 – 16 include isotropic crystalline covalent organic frameworks 12 – 14 that feature rigid helical strands interlaced in all three dimensions, rather than the two-dimensional 17 , 18 layers of flexible woven strands that give conventional textiles their characteristic flexibility, thinness, anisotropic strength and porosity. A supramolecular two-dimensional kagome weave 15 and a single-layer, surface-supported, interwoven two-dimensional polymer 16 have also been reported. The direct, bottom-up assembly of molecular building blocks into linear organic polymer chains woven in two dimensions has been proposed on a number of occasions 19 – 23 , but has not previously been achieved. Here we demonstrate that by using an anion and metal ion template, woven molecular ‘tiles’ can be tessellated into a material consisting of alternating aliphatic and aromatic segmented polymer strands, interwoven within discrete layers. Connections between slowly precipitating pre-woven grids, followed by the removal of the ion template, result in a wholly organic molecular material that forms as stacks and clusters of thin sheets—each sheet up to hundreds of micrometres long and wide but only about four nanometres thick—in which warp and weft single-chain polymer strands remain associated through periodic mechanical entanglements within each sheet. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy show clusters and, occasionally, isolated individual sheets that, following demetallation, have slid apart from others with which they were stacked during the tessellation and polymerization process. The layered two-dimensional molecularly woven material has long-range order, is birefringent, is twice as stiff as the constituent linear polymer, and delaminates and tears along well-defined lines in the manner of a macroscopic textile. When incorporated into a polymer-supported membrane, it acts as a net, slowing the passage of large ions while letting smaller ions through. An anion and metal ion template is used to form woven polymer patches that are joined together by polymerization into a fully woven, two-dimensional, molecular patchwork.

Insoles provide resistance to ground reaction forces and comfort during walking. In this study, a novel weft-knitted spacer fabric structure with inlays for insoles is proposed which not only absorbs shock and resists pressure, but also allows heat dissipation for enhanced thermal comfort. The results show that the inlay density and spacer yarn increase compression resistance and reduce impact forces. The increased spacer yarn density provides better air permeability but reduces thermal resistance, while a lower inlay density with a random orientation reduces the evaporative resistance. The proposed structure has significantly positive implications for insole applications.

Current strategies for the synthesis of molecular knots focus on twisting, folding and/or threading molecular building blocks. Here we report that Zn(ii) or Fe(ii) ions can be used to weave ligand strands to form a woven 3 × 3 molecular grid. We found that the process requires tetrafluoroborate anions to template the assembly of the interwoven grid by binding within the square cavities formed between the metal-coordinated criss-crossed ligands. The strand ends of the grid can subsequently be joined through within-grid alkene metathesis reactions to form a topologically trivial macrocycle (unknot), a doubly interlocked [2]catenane (Solomon link) and a knot with seven crossings in a 258-atom-long closed loop. This 74 knot topology corresponds to that of an endless knot, which is a basic motif of Celtic interlace, the smallest Chinese knot and one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism and Hinduism. The weaving of molecular strands within a discrete layer by anion-template metal–ion coordination opens the way for the synthesis of other molecular knot topologies and to woven polymer materials.A combination of metal- and anion-template synthesis directs the weaving of molecular weft and warp strands in the assembly of a 3 × 3 interwoven grid. Connection of the ligand strands by alkene metathesis produces the topology of a seven-crossing endless knot, an important cultural and religious symbol.

Elastic yarns are the key component of high-performance compression garments. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate anti-fatigue yarns with high mechanical force and long elongation for generating compression garments with prolonged wear. In this paper, we report the development of anti-fatigue double-wrapped yarns with excellent mechanical properties by wrapping high-denier Spandex with nylon filaments in opposite twists. In particular, high-denier (560 D) Spandex as the core was untwisted, which can maximally reduce the interaction between the core and wrapping filaments, enabling high elongation of double-wrapped yarns. In addition, we chose 70 D nylon filaments with a tensile force of 3.87 ± 0.09 N as the wrapping materials to provide sufficient force for double-wrapped yarns. Notably, opposite twists were induced for the inner and outer wrapping filaments to achieve a balanced stable yarn structure. By systematically optimizing manufacturing parameters, including inner wrapping density, outer wrapping density, take-up ratio, and drafting ratio, we obtained double-wrapped yarn with excellent tensile stress (32.59 ± 0.82 MPa) and tensile strain (357.28% ± 9.10%). Notably, the stress decay rate of optimized yarns was only 12.0% ± 2.2%. In addition, the optimized yarn was used as the weft-lining yarn for generating weft-lined fabrics. The elastic recovery rate of the obtained fabric was decreased by only 2.6% after five cyclic stretches, much lower than the control fabric. Our design of anti-fatigue double-wrapped yarns could be widely used for fabricating high-performance compression garments.

To achieve high quality, strong adaptability, and stability of visible light communication system, this paper plans to study the hemispherical array structure to realize the alignment of the light path. The structured surface covers multiple LED and PD detection arrays according to the longitude and weft direction, realizing the bidirectional sending and receiving model. It is demonstrated that the effective light intensity ratio of the hemispherical array is higher than that of the planar array, and the interference between channels of the hemispherical array is less than that of the planar array under the same conditions. In addition, the influence mechanism of optical mechanism parameters (transceiver hemisphere array radius, LED tilt angle, and PD tilt angle) on beam scattering is established, and the influence of relative position changes between LED array and PD array on communication performance is clarified.

Auxetic materials refer to materials with a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR). They expand when stretched and become slimmer when compressed. Due to the special features of auxetic materials, they are used in a wide range of industrial applications including medical, fashion and clothing, composite, sports, and protective applications. This study aims to design and develop auxetic weft-knitted fabrics based on a horizontal zigzag structure with different structural patterns and investigate the influence of various parameters on their auxetic behavior. Auxetic fabrics with three patterns and three loop lengths were knitted using polyester yarn with different counts. Subsequently, the auxetic behavior of each fabric sample was examined. The results denote that the negative Poisson’s ratio decreases with increasing strain. The effect of the fabric knit pattern with different angles on the auxetic behavior is different in the course and wale directions. Fabrics with higher loop lengths have a higher initial negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR), while fabrics with smaller loop lengths exhibit auxetic behavior in a wider strain range. Furthermore, optimizing the fabric structure and dimensional parameters such as yarn count and loop length can enhance auxetic behavior. This research provides a useful study for optimizing auxetic fabric properties by changing structural parameters and developing innovative applications for materials with special mechanical properties.

Knitted textiles are a popular reinforcement in polymer composites for their high drape properties and superior impact energy absorption, making them suitable for specific composite components. Nevertheless, limited attention has been paid to modeling the mechanical behavior of knitted fabric composites since knitted textiles generally offer lower stiffness and strength. This study presents a 3D finite element (FE) modeling of a precise geometrical model of weft-knitted carbon fiber thermoplastic composite to better understand its nonlinear mechanical behavior and interface damage mechanisms under tension. Toward this end, a representative volume element (RVE) of the weft-knitted fabric composite with periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) is generated based on actual dimensions. The validity of the textile RVE to represent the macroscopic behavior was evaluated prior to analyzing the composite. The effect of fiber tow/matrix debonding during tension on the mechanical behavior of the composite is investigated using the cohesive zone model (CZM). Finally, the predicted results of the mechanical behavior of the composite with and without considering the interface failure are compared with the experimental measurements. It is found that the fiber tow/matrix interfacial strength has a significant effect on the tensile performance of the knitted fabric composites, particularly when they are subjected to a large strain. According to the simulation results, the highest tensile performance of the composite is achieved when the interfacial debonding is prevented. However, considering the fiber/matrix debonding in the modeling is essential to achieve a good agreement with the experimental results. In addition, it is concluded that stretching the fabric before composite manufacturing can substantially increase the tensile stiffness of the knitted composite.

Spacer fabrics are unique three-dimensional structures, which are used in various applications due to their specific features. Spacer fabrics are exposed to constant compressional strain in some applications. Consequently, the fabric’s performance will change due to the stress relaxation phenomenon in the fabric structure. This study aims to investigate the effect of spacer fabric’s structure on the compressional stress relaxation of the fabric. To this end, weft-knitted spacer fabrics with different spacer yarn lengths were produced, and their compressional stress relaxation was studied compared to polyurethane (PU) foam. The results reveal that by increasing the length of spacer yarns, the stress relaxation of the fabric decreases, while the maximum energy absorption efficiency increases. Based on the findings, the performance of the spacer fabrics compared to foam depends on the stress level, and all considered spacer fabrics exhibited more energy absorption and efficiency than foam at low-stress levels (lower than 100 cN/cm 2 ). Eventually, knitted spacer fabrics’ compressional and stress relaxation behavior can be precisely estimated using the three-parameter model with nonlinear spring, and the three-parameter Maxwell model with nonlinear spring, respectively.

To prevent discomfort caused by perspiration adhering to the skin during exercise, it is necessary to develop fabrics with moisture-wicking and fast-drying properties. Polytrimethylene terephthalate/polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PTT/PET) bicomponent filament is typically characterized by a shaped cross section, which is conducive to moisture transfer. However, there has been a paucity of research into the development of PTT/PET bicomponent filament into moisture-wicking and fast-drying knitted fabrics. In this study, we developed double-sided weft knitted fabrics with moisture-wicking and fast-drying functions based on PTT/PET bicomponent filament. We then designed and knitted four kinds of weft knitted fabrics, i.e., interlock, pique, honeycomb and ottoman, with the objective of characterizing the moisture-wicking and fast-drying performances of the fabrics in terms of four indexes. The moisture-wicking and fast-drying performance of the knitted fabrics was characterized in terms of four indicators: water absorption rate, wicking height, drip diffusion time and drying rate. The results demonstrated that the ottoman fabric exhibited a water absorption rate of up to 214%, a wicking height of up to 192 mm, a drip diffusion time of up to 0.7 s and a drying rate of up to 0.446 g/h, showing excellent moisture-wicking and fast-drying performance. The water contact angle of the front and back sides of the fabrics revealed a difference in the moisture-wicking properties of the front and back sides of pique, honeycomb and ottoman knitted fabrics. This bicomponent fabric has potential application for functional sportswear in the future.