Reversible Thermochromic Organosilicon Fibers Based on TiO ₂ @AgI Composites: Preparation, Properties, and Potential Applications

Abstract

Abstract The application of reversible thermochromic fibers (RTFs) is expanding from the smart wearable field toward industrial temperature detection and safety warning; however, most RTFs suffer from low color change temperature thresholds and poor thermal stability, which restrict their applications in medium and high‐temperature places (>100 °C). Currently, overheating of equipment is a key factor that causes safety accidents, and the development of reliable visualized temperature warning materials is of great practical significance for accident prevention. To address these issues, TiO 2 @AgI is blended with a ternary organosilicon oil spinning solution via a high‐temperature air‐induced crosslinking method to obtain a reversible thermochromic organosilicon fiber (TSiF) suitable for use in medium and high‐temperature environments owing to its thermal stability. Among them, TiO₂@AgI 1.1 @SiF‐2 has the best performance, showing a significant white to bright yellow color change (color difference ΔE = 25.72) at 135.4 °C. It still possesses the thermochromic performance after 170 cycles and excellent mechanical properties (tensile strength of 9.89–11.33 MPa, no decay in 500 cycles), significant biocompatibility and antimicrobial ability, which fully meets the requirements for medium and high‐temperature warning. Thus, this study provides a new idea for fabricating RTFs that can be used for medium and high‐temperature warning.