Hierarchically Assembled Soft Materials and Composites for Electronic Textiles

Electronic textiles, or e-textiles, are emerging as a distinctive class of soft material in which function arises not only from the properties of individual materials, but also from their controlled organisation across multiple length scales. From nanomaterials and coatings to fibres, yarns, fabrics, and garment-level architectures, the performance of e-textiles depends on how the soft material components are assembled, interfaced, and stabilised within deformable textile structures. In this context, conductive polymers, metallic coatings and fibres, carbon-based nanomaterials, and bio-based components are not merely added to textiles; they must be integrated in ways that preserve softness, flexibility, and wearability while adding electrical and mechanical functions.Recent progress in functional fibres, electronic yarns, conductive coatings, fibre-based energy devices, hybrid composites, and printed and braided structures has expanded the potential of e-textiles for sensing, actuation, communication, protection, and energy management: Yet major challenges remain. Reliable performance under bending, stretching, compression, abrasion, and repeated laundering is still difficult to achieve, and many systems continue to rely on complex manufacturing routes or materials with limited sustainability to achieve robustness. These limitations highlight the need for a soft-matter perspective in which hierarchical structuring, interfacial engineering, and composite design are treated as central to function. Complementary theoretical perspectives (including topological and geometric descriptions of nets, weavings, and entangled structures) are also welcomed, as they provide a rigorous foundation for understanding how textile architecture governs material function.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that explore how self-organisation, hierarchical assembly, and interfacial control can be used to create durable, multifunctional, and wearable textile electronics. Particular emphasis is placed on studies that connect material organisation with device performance in realistic textile conditions. By bringing together advances in soft functional materials, textile integration strategies, and human-centred wearable applications, this topic aims to support the development of e-textiles that are robust, scalable, comfortable, and more sustainable.This Research Topic welcomes manuscripts on soft materials and composite architectures for electronic textiles, including but not limited to:Soft materials and composite systems• Conductive polymers and polymer-based soft conductors for e-textiles• Carbon-based nanomaterials, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, MXenes, and related hybrid systems• Metallic fibres, coatings, and deformable conductive pathways in textile structures• Polymer, fibre-based, and hybrid composites for sensing, actuation, and energy functions• Bio-based, recyclable, or lower-impact materials for wearable textile electronicsAssembly, organisation, and interfaces• Self-assembly and self-organisation in soft functional materials for textile integration• Hierarchical organisation from nanomaterials to fibres, yarns, fabrics, and multilayer textile systems• Interfacial engineering between coatings, fibres, yarns, and soft substrates• Printing, spinning, braiding, weaving, knitting, lamination, and encapsulation approaches that govern function• Structure-property-performance relationships in deformable and multifunctional textile systems• Topological and geometric modelling of textile entanglements, including nets, tangled nets, periodic weavings, and knot-theoretic approaches to textile architecturesPerformance under realistic use• Washability and retention of function after repeated laundering• Mechanical softness, conformability, flexibility, and stretchability• Long-term durability under cyclic deformation, abrasion, and environmental exposure• Stability of conductive, sensing, optical, or energy-related behaviour in daily use• Failure mechanisms, degradation pathways, and testing methods for wearable soft systems• Theoretical frameworks linking entanglement topology to mechanical response, deformability, and auxetic behaviour in textile systemsWearable function and sustainability• Textile systems for healthcare, wellbeing, safety, protective clothing, sports, and human-machine interaction• Fibre- or textile-based power integration, energy harvesting, and energy storage• Scalable fabrication strategies for multifunctional e-textiles• Reduction of rare metals, solvent use, or energy-intensive processing• Circularity, life-cycle thinking, and environmentally responsible design in e-textiles Topic editors: Benjamin Tawiah, Raphael Kanyire Seidu, Theo Hughes-Riley Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80498/hierarchically-assembled-soft-materials-and-composites-for-electronic-textiles