Two-dimensional materials van der Waals assembly enabling scalable smart textiles

In recent years, the rapid advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) has promoted the development and application of smart textiles. Scalable van der Waals (vdW) assembly opens up an effective route for creating new types of smart textiles. It relies on vdW force to combine two-dimensional (2D) functional materials with textiles. The integration preserves the textiles flexibility, breathability, and comfort while endowing them with functionality and intelligence. Consequently, the vdW smart textiles can be applied in various functional scenarios, accelerating the commercialization of wearable devices. The paper offers a timely and comprehensive review of the latest research advancement in scalable vdW smart textiles over the past five years. It discusses 2D functional materials, the preparation and integration technologies of vdW smart textiles, and their applications in diverse fields, including healthcare, human-machine interaction, self-powered devices, energy-saving building, personal protection, and etc. Additionally, the paper critically examines and analyzes the current preparation techniques for large-scale production of vdW smart textiles, and provides important insights into the existing challenges and future research directions in terms of performance, scalability, stability, safety and so on. It is anticipated that in near future, vdW smart textiles integrated with the Internet will be transformed into a wider range of commercial applications to realize a fully connected smart life.