Pyrolyzed Silk Carbon Fabric-Enabled Wearable Functional Actuators With Heating and Sound-Emitting Capabilities

Textile-based wearable electronics are widely favored by researchers due to their superior comfort. However, there are few studies on textile-based flexible actuators with multiple uses. In this article, a highly flexible actuator with heating and sound-emitting capabilities enabled by pyrolyzed silk carbon fabrics is developed. The functionalized fabrics with ideal physical properties are prepared by a high-temperature reduction method, which is simple and efficient. Its electrothermal and photothermal effects endow the device with heating function. The steady-state temperature can reach 188 °C and 280 °C under 0.80-W/cm2 electricity power density and 1.46-W/cm2 laser power density with high stability, respectively. By taking advantage of thermoacoustic effect, it can also produce intuitive sound messages. Test results show that acoustic properties are in good agreement with theoretical model. The output sound pressure level can be stabilized at about 55 dB in the range of 8–20 kHz under 101-mW power. The actuator carries great potentials in wearable thermal and acoustic applications.