Researchers at Wuhan Textile College, led by Professor Hualing He, developed an anisotropic thermoelectric aerogel impressed by the construction of human muscle. The examine was revealed in Nano-Micro Letters.
As firefighting duties develop extra advanced and unsafe, there’s a rising want for protecting gear that not solely shields in opposition to excessive warmth but additionally displays temperature in actual time.
The workforce created a composite known as ACMCA, which is made out of aramid nanofibers. It gives a mix of environment friendly vitality conversion and powerful thermal insulation. This makes it a promising materials for self-powered, clever hearth security clothes.
ACMCA was shaped utilizing a directional freeze-drying course of that produced a well-organized porous community resembling muscle tissue. This construction helps each electrical conductivity and directional warmth switch.
The ensuing materials is a versatile and light-weight aerogel, with a density of 0.038 g/cm³. It has a excessive Seebeck coefficient of 46.78 μV/Okay and low thermal conductivity of simply 0.048 W/m·Okay.
These mixed properties permit ACMCA to transform warmth gradients immediately into electrical alerts. This operate works with out exterior energy and helps real-time temperature monitoring.
In sensible experiments, ACMCA confirmed a fast and constant response to temperature modifications. When built-in into firefighting clothes, it triggered a multistage high-temperature alarm system inside 1.43 seconds of flame publicity. The system coated a large temperature vary, from 50 to 400 °C, permitting for early warning in excessive situations.
In contrast to conventional sensors that require batteries or exterior circuits, ACMCA operates with out exterior energy. This self-powered design simplifies system integration and enhances sturdiness in harsh environments.
The muscle-inspired construction additionally offers directional warmth transport and powerful mechanical efficiency. ACMCA maintained its operate after repeated bending, stretching, and compression. It retained over 85 % of its voltage output even after 300 cycles of deformation.
Its energy comes from a community shaped by robust hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. This community contains functionalized MXene, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and silver nanowires, creating a sturdy and conductive 3D construction. Moreover, the fabric types a TiO₂-rich char layer throughout publicity to flame, which boosts thermal stability and improves hearth resistance.
Past temperature sensing, the composite might be tailored for gasoline detection. When mixed with CH₃NH₃PbI₃, the modified model (ACMCA-M) confirmed a noticeable colour change and excessive selectivity for ammonia (NH₃). Ammonia is a poisonous and explosive gasoline usually current in industrial fires, making this characteristic beneficial for security functions.
ACMCA combines insulation, vitality harvesting, real-time sensing, and mechanical sturdiness in a single materials. Its scalable and environmentally pleasant manufacturing course of helps roll-to-roll manufacturing, making it appropriate to be used in firefighting gear, industrial security gear, and different high-temperature sensible functions.
Journal Reference:
Yu, Z., et al. (2025). Muscle-Impressed Anisotropic Aramid Nanofibers Aerogel Exhibiting Excessive-Effectivity Thermoelectric Conversion and Exact Temperature Monitoring for Firefighting Clothes. Nano-Micro Letters. doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01728-x.