Robustly Flexible Wearable Electronic Textiles Enabled by Polymer Brush-Assisted Metal Deposition for Human Motion Sensing

In contrast to traditional brittle and rigid devices, wearable electronics are garnering significant attention due to their ability to conform to the complex morphology of the curved human body and naturally adapt to intense movements. In this study, we developed a copper-based electronic textile that was decorated with a persistent initiator coating (PIC) on the surface of polyester fibers (PEFs), followed by polymer-assisted metal deposition (PAMD). The resulting electronic textile demonstrated excellent conductivity (9.03 × 105 S/m) and wear resistance, maintaining good electrical conductivity even after 10,000 friction cycles, 100 min of washing, and 3000 cycles of bending. Furthermore, the Cu-based electronic textile exhibited good breathability, hydrophobicity, and flexibility, making it suitable for human motion sensing applications, such as voice recognition, expiration and pulse sensing, and finger bending. The wearable Cu-based electronic textile's exceptional sensing properties make it highly suitable for potential applications in the fields of motion monitoring and human–computer interaction.