Advances in Electrospun Stimuli‐Responsive Smart Fibers: A Review

ABSTRACT With the rapid evolution of flexible electronics and biomedical systems, stimuli‐responsive smart fibers have emerged as important functional materials. Electrospinning serves as a versatile fabrication route for micro/nanofibers, enabling tunable fiber morphologies, high porosity, and large specific surface areas to regulate the structure–property relationships of stimuli‐responsive smart fibers. This review systematically summarizes the fundamentals, structural design strategies, fabrication technologies, and applications of electrospun stimuli‐responsive smart fibers. The response mechanisms underlying seven typical stimuli, including temperature, light, pH, humidity, force, magnetism, and electricity, are first discussed. Subsequently, material selection, electrospinning strategies, and structural design approaches are discussed, highlighting how architecture and interfacial regulation govern response speed, sensitivity, and cycling stability. Furthermore, recent advances in five core application domains, including optical responses, wettability switching, shape‐morphing actuation, energy harvesting/storage, and signal transduction, are summarized. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities are discussed, with emphasis on multi‐stimulus coupling, artificial intelligence (AI)‐assisted fabrication, and green scalable production. Overall, this review provides comprehensive theoretical guidance for the development and industrial translation of high‐performance intelligent fiber materials.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-09-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.78377
Primary Topic
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
article

Advances in Electrospun Stimuli‐Responsive Smart Fibers: A Review

Weimin Kang, Zhongxiang Lei, Zongjie Li, Jingge Ju et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
article

Advances in Electrospun Stimuli‐Responsive Smart Fibers: A Review

Weimin Kang, Zhongxiang Lei, Zongjie Li, Jingge Ju, Yanfei Chen, Yongcheng Wang, Jingjing Lei, Zijia Yan, Lu Gao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the rapid evolution of flexible electronics and biomedical systems, stimuli‐responsive smart fibers have emerged as important functional materials. Electrospinning serves as a versatile fabrication route for micro/nanofibers, enabling tunable fiber morphologies, high porosity, and large specific surface areas to regulate the structure–property relationships of stimuli‐responsive smart fibers. This review systematically summarizes the fundamentals, structural design strategies, fabrication technologies, and applications of electrospun stimuli‐responsive smart fibers. The response mechanisms underlying seven typical stimuli, including temperature, light, pH, humidity, force, magnetism, and electricity, are first discussed. Subsequently, material selection, electrospinning strategies, and structural design approaches are discussed, highlighting how architecture and interfacial regulation govern response speed, sensitivity, and cycling stability. Furthermore, recent advances in five core application domains, including optical responses, wettability switching, shape‐morphing actuation, energy harvesting/storage, and signal transduction, are summarized. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities are discussed, with emphasis on multi‐stimulus coupling, artificial intelligence (AI)‐assisted fabrication, and green scalable production. Overall, this review provides comprehensive theoretical guidance for the development and industrial translation of high‐performance intelligent fiber materials.

Advanced Functional Materials
Tiangong University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.