Shear-enhanced liquid-crystal spinning of conjugated polymer fibers

Journal article, 2025

Conjugated polymer fibers hold great promise for manufacturing unconventional electronic devices, particularly for advancing the applicability of wearable technology and smart textiles. For instance, these fibers have recently been used for energy conversion, electrochemical sensing and platforms for human-machine interactions. However, the limited methods available for spinning fibers from conjugated polymers with rigid backbones have impeded progress in wearable applications. Here, we report the continuous production of anisotropic semiconductor fibers by modulating pi-pi stacking interactions of liquid-crystalline conjugated polymers under shear stress. This method allows rigid conjugated polymers to be processed, synergistically enhancing both the mechanical and semiconductor properties of fibers through liquid-crystal spinning. As a result, these fibers exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, high mechanical strength (similar to 600 MPa) and outstanding scalability, as well as stability under extreme temperatures, UV radiation and chemical reagent exposure. Moreover, a fully textile-based visual logic sensing system was developed using semiconductor-fiber organic electrochemical transistors, offering a novel technological approach for integrating smart textiles into precision medicine and health monitoring. These findings underscore the importance of the liquid crystalline state and solution control in optimizing the performance of conjugated polymer fibers, paving the way for developing a new generation of fiber semiconductor devices. Shear-induced liquid crystal alignment enables continuous fabrication of semiconducting polymer fibers with enhanced electrical and mechanical performance, establishing a platform for next-generation bio-interactive electronic textiles.