Continuous Meter-Scale Wet-Spinning of Cornlike Composite Fibers for Eco-Friendly Multifunctional Electronics

“Green” solvent-dissolved cellulose enables functional reuse of waste cotton fabrics. This work will not only achieve high-value utilization of biomass but also overcome microplastic pollution. There is a significant challenge in the continuous meter-scale synthesis of sensing fibers for commercial applications with high productivity. Herein, waste cellulose fabrics was recycled by the NaOH/urea system to produce regenerated cellulose (RC) and then cornlike polyaniline (PANI) was anchored on the RC fibers by in situ polymerization of aniline through continuous meter-scale wet-spinning. In our findings, the morphologies and possible growth of PANI layers on the RC surface can be tailored by various ammonium persulfate (APS) contents in a coagulation bath. Especially, composite fibers (PC0.5) exhibited superior electrical conductivity and highly sensitive responsiveness to organic vapors and human motions including exhalation/inhalation, finger, and wrist joints. Further, the possible sensing mechanism of cornlike PC0.5 has been proposed, and its GF value is 23.8. This study realized the conversion from cheap waste fibers to high-value conductive fibers with excellent performances for multifunctional wearable sensors and energy devices via a simple and “green” method.