journal article·2026-06-25Open access

Multifunctional Flexible Thermoelectric Fabric for Smart Wearables

Jia Wu, Yan Dong, Bingyi Li, Linlin Zhang, Wuwei Bao, Cheng Zhang, Yao Wang, Miao Miao, Man Zhou, Yifan Cui, Xinyang He

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wearable thermoelectrics can convert waste heat from the human body and its microenvironment into electrical energy, potentially driving fields such as intelligent sensing, health monitoring, and dynamic protection. However, they are often limited by trade‐offs between performance, comfort, and functionality, which restrict their practical application in smart wearable devices. Here, we report a multifunctional thermoelectric fabric that integrates heat, electricity, and magnetism, fabricated using advanced textile design. The fabric's normal thickness facilitates the construction of a stable temperature difference, enabling temperature sensing with an accuracy of 0.1 K. Through fabric structural design, the thermoelectric device also achieves dual‐parameter sensing with record‐breaking stability (> 10,000 temperature cycles; > 20,000 compression‐release cycles), ultrafast rebound speed (14 ms), and excellent breathability (321 mm/s). More importantly, the thermoelectric substrate also exhibits strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance (50.82 dB shielding effectiveness), blocking interference and radiation in both directions, while its clothing‐compatible flexibility ensures wearing comfort. By integrating thermoelectric power generation, multiphysics sensing, and EMI protection into a single composite fabric, this work overcomes the application limitations of traditional flexible electronics and opens up a new paradigm for the functional expansion of flexible thermoelectric materials.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electromagnetic wave absorption materials · Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Key Laboratory of Green and Low‐Carbon Textile Printing and Dyeing Technology, Ministry of Education Jiangnan University Wuxi Jiangsu China

School of Textile & Clothing Nantong University Nantong Jiangsu China

Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Modern Textile Materials and Technology Tarim University Xinjiang China

Department of Mechanical Engineering Texas A&M University College Station Texas USA

School of Textile Science and Engineering Tiangong University Tianjin China

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