According to the team from the National University of Singapore (NUS), the flexible, durable, and highly visible SHINE fibre could be applied in fields including robotics, fashion, and wearable technology.
The SHINE fibre (Scalable Hydrogel-clad Ionotronic Nickel-core Electroluminescent fibre) has been developed by an interdisciplinary team led by Associate Professor Benjamin Tee.
“Most digital information today is transmitted largely through light-emissive devices,” said Assoc Prof Tee. “We are very interested in developing sustainable materials that can emit light and explore new form factors, such as fibres, that could extend application scenarios, for example, smart textiles. One way to engineer sustainable light-emitting devices is to make them self-healable, just like biological tissues such as skin.”
The team’s research, conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech) at NUS is detailed in Nature Communications.
The SHINE fibres are made using a nickel core as a magnetically responsive electrode, a light-emitting zinc sulphide layer, and a transparent hydrogel cladding that doubles as a transparent electrode. The result is a fibre that is functional and also highly durable, retaining its properties after being stored in open air for nearly a year.
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When the fibre is damaged, it can self-repair through a gentle heating process, followed by reabsorbing moisture from the air under ambient conditions, recovering almost all its original brightness. According to the team, this reusability makes the fibres more sustainable than traditional light-emitting fibres.
With a brightness of 1068 cd/m² these fibres are claimed to offer ‘significant advantages’ over existing alternatives. The SHINE fibres can be woven into smart textiles, creating wearable technology and interactive displays.
SHINE also features magnetic actuation enabled by its nickel core, a property that allows the fibre to be manipulated with external magnetic fields. The fibre’s magnetic properties are claimed to also enable new applications for human-robot interaction.
“This is an interesting property as it enables applications like light-emitting soft robotic fibres capable of manoeuvring tight spaces, performing complicated motions and signalling optically in real-time,” said Dr Fu Xuemei, the first author of the research paper.
The research team is now working on refining the precision of the fibre’s magnetic actuation to support more dexterous robotic applications. They are also exploring the possibility of weaving sensing capabilities – such as the ability to detect temperature and humidity – into light-emitting textiles made entirely from SHINE fibres.
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