Self-healing LBL dual ambiences-driven molecular gating-based unidirectional actuators for multi-mode personal protection

More attention has paid to health events caused by the epidemic and harmful interferences where personal protective equipment (PPE) become of vital importance. Traditional protection can only provide limited de-fenses. Thus, comprehensive PPE tailored with more practical performances and more facile routines gets highly desirable. However, functional integrations and engineering implementations of such PPE remain challenging. Herein, a dual ambiences-driven molecular gating-based unidirectional actuator for multi-mode personal pro-tection is designed. To fabricate this Janus actuating film, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) were deposited as a thermal-sensitive side while alginate, 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol and poly-dopamine nanoparticles were overlaid onto the other for humidity response via layer-by-layer self-assembling. As a result, pleasurable humidity/temperarure management (55%/33 celcius against adverse conditions), respiratory detection (responsive signal to exhaled air), oil repellent for anti-bacterial-adhesion (antibacterial rate > 92.2%), transparent visual-monitoring hazardous compounds (opaque to transparency: 0 similar to 85.3%), electromagnetic shielding (>15 dB), credible-tolerance of damage (self-healing efficiency > 91.7%) were integrated into a single actuator (PROTECT actuator). Our PROTECT actuator could protect customers from environmental stress as well as early warning. This strategy opens a new era of novel custom-tailorable and easy-to-obtain protection devices, especially noncontact-perception systems and all-round defensive setups.