Equipment- and training-free textile detectors could be used in public health, workplace safety, military and rescue applications
Tufts University engineers have developed a novel fabrication method to create dyed threads that change color when they detect a variety of gases. The researchers demonstrated that the threads can be read visually, or even more precisely by use of a smartphone camera, to detect changes of color due to analytes as low as 50 parts per million. Woven into clothing, smart, gas-detecting threads could provide a reusable, washable, and affordable safety asset in medical, workplace, military and rescue environments, they say. The study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, describes the fabrication method and its ability to extend to a wide range of dyes and detection of complex gas mixtures.
While not replacing the precision of electronic devices commonly used to detect volatile gases, incorporation of gas detection into textiles enables an equipment-free readout, without the need for specialized training, the researchers say. Such an approach could make the technology accessible to a general workforce, or to low resource communities that can benefit from the information the textiles provide.
The study used a manganese-based dye, MnTPP, methyl red, and bromothymol blue to prove the concept. MnTPP and bromothymol blue can detect ammonia while methyl red can detect hydrogen chloride – gases commonly released from cleaning supplies, fertilizer and chemical and materials production. A three-step process “traps” the dye in the thread. The thread is first dipped in the dye, then treated with acetic acid, which makes the surface coarser and swells the fiber, possibly allowing more binding interactions between the dye and tread. Finally, the thread is treated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which creates a flexible, physical seal around the thread and dye, which also repels water and prevents dye from leaching during washing. Importantly, the PDMS is also gas permeable, allowing the analytes to reach the optical dyes.
“The dyes we used work in different ways, so we can detect gases with different chemistries,” said Sameer Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Tufts University’s School of Engineering who heads the Nano Lab at Tufts and is corresponding author of the study. Sonkusale’s team used simple dyes that detect gases with acid or base properties. “But since we are using a method that effectively traps the dye to the thread, rather than relying so much on binding chemistry, we have more flexibility to use dyes with a wide range of functional chemistries to detect different types of gases,” he said.
The tested dyes changed color in a way that is dependent and proportional to the concentration of the gas as measured using spectroscopic methods. In between the precision of a spectrometer and the human eye is the possibility of using smart phones to read out and quantify the color changes or interpret color signatures using multiple threads and dyes. “That would allow us to scale up the detection to measure many analytes at once, or to distinguish analytes with unique colorimetric signatures,” said Sonkusale.
The threads even worked under water, detecting the existence of dissolved ammonia. “While the PDMS sealant is hydrophobic and keeps water off the thread, the dissolved gases can still reach the dye to be quantified.” said Rachel Owyeung, lead author and graduate student in the Tufts Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “As dissolved gas sensors, we imagine smart fabrics detecting carbon dioxide or other volatile organic compounds during oil and gas exploration as one possible application.”
Since repeated washing or use underwater does not dilute the dye, the threads can be relied upon for consistent quantifiable detection many times over, the researchers said.
Learn more: That’s ‘sew’ smart! Scientists invent threads to detect gases when woven into clothing
The Latest on: Sensing threads
[google_news title=”” keyword=”sensing threads” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Sensing threads
- Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra Reviewon April 27, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Samsung's Galaxy Book4 Ultra is a powerful contender in the 16-inch laptop arena, but it's costly and displays in 1800p instead of the 4K resolution found in cheaper alternatives.
- Zoogeochemists measure how animals change the chemistry of their environmentson April 26, 2024 at 5:52 pm
Ecologists are blazing trails in a new field they’ve dubbed zoogeochemistry, which explores how animals influence nutrient cycling and carbon entering and exiting their ecosystems. Through everyday ...
- Meta's Twitter clone 'Threads' already has more users than Elon Musk's Xon April 25, 2024 at 10:15 am
Meta's Threads app, which was made directly to compete with X, formerly Twitter, has now surpassed its direct competition in active US daily users.
- What's Weekly Shonen Jump's Next Big Manga?on April 25, 2024 at 10:00 am
Most of these manga series are available to read digitally on Viz's Shonen Jump app. WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP IS DYING AND IF YOU'RE NOT SCARED YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION!!!
- What pressure are you running? Three different pressure monitoring systems, put to the teston April 25, 2024 at 6:00 am
In the last few years we’ve seen multiple products that adjust tire pressure on the fly to optimize pressure for the conditions the riders face. Roubaix has long been a proving ground for new ...
- This laptop beats the MacBook Air in every way but oneon April 25, 2024 at 5:30 am
The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 9 and Apple MacBook Air M3 are very different laptops, but they're both fast and gorgeous. Which one is the right laptop for you?
- Zuckerberg's Threads overtakes Musk's X in daily user counton April 25, 2024 at 5:30 am
Meta's communication platform, Threads, has overtaken Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, in daily active users (DAUs) within the United States. This change was observed in December 2023 ...
- Forget the PS5 Pro, Sony's neck-based air conditioner is the invention turning heads right nowon April 24, 2024 at 10:46 am
Sony's air conditioner gadget is one of the more bizarre inventions of 2024, but it's already popular in Asia - and is now available outside the continent.
- Threads just dethroned X, according to this key metricon April 23, 2024 at 9:20 am
Launched less than a year ago as a rival for Twitter, Threads is continuing to gain ground with users.
- Ford, Toyota, Tesla among 517,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls hereon April 22, 2024 at 4:26 am
Tesla is recalling 3,878 of its 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. In the NHTSA report, the automaker said the gas pedal pad may dislodge and cause the pedal to become trapped by the interior trim. When a gas ...
via Bing News