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 <i>in situ</i> 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 (PC_0.5) 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 PC_0.5 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.