Viper-inspired vigilance: A biomimetic PPy@M(OH)(OCH3) (M = Co, Ni) smart armor endows cotton with high-efficient fire-resistance, graded fire-alarming, and identification for firefighting postures

Inspired by Viper scales, a cotton-based smart textile named PMCOT has been developed. • PMCOT exhibits thermosensitive properties, enabling graded fire alarm. • PMCOT demonstrates piezosensitive properties, achieving body language recognition and remote control. To address the challenge of simultaneously achieving superior fire resistance and intelligent sensing in next-generation firefighting suits, we herein report a viper scale-inspired organic-inorganic hybrid smart armor, PPy@M(OH)(OCH 3 ) (M = Co, Ni), which was further utilized to fabricate a cotton-based smart fabric, PMCOT. PMCOT exhibits excellent flame resistance, thermosensitivity, and piezosensitivity. Specifically, it withstands 1300 °C flame jet for over 60 s while maintaining structural integrity; its peak heat release rate was reduced by 87.38% compared with pure cotton, and the residual mass reached 41.6% after thermal decomposition. Endowed with a piezoresistive sensing mechanism, PMCOT realized real-time resistance monitoring of shoulder, elbow and knee joints, capturing distinguishable signals for typical firefighting postures. It also achieved graded fire alarm via thermosensitive resistance variation (37.2–95.9 °C). In addition, PMCOT can capture finger joint signals of firefighters and operate a robotic arm remotely with stable cyclic performance. PMCOT possessed excellent comprehensive wearable performance with increased elongation at break (27.6%), only 4.8% lower water vapor transmission rate than cotton, and high-efficiency antibacterial performance. The bionic strategy proposed in this study provides critical support for the design of fireproof smart fabrics and the development of next-generation intelligent firefighting suits. Download: Download high-res image (293KB) Download: Download full-size image