Continuous Production of Ultratough Semiconducting Polymer Fibers with High Electronic Performance

Conjugated polymers have demonstrated promising optoelectronic properties, but their brittleness and poor mechanical characteristics have hindered their fabrication into durable fibers and textiles. Here, we report a universal approach to continuously producing highly strong, ultratough conjugated polymer fibers utilizing a flow-enhanced crystallization (FLEX) method. These fibers exhibit one order of magnitude higher tensile strength (>200 MPa) and toughness (>80 MJ m⁻³) than traditional semiconducting polymer fibers and films, outperforming many synthetic fibers, ready for scalable production. These fibers also exhibit unique strain-enhanced electronic properties and exceptional performance when employed as stretchable conductors, thermoelectrics, transistors, and sensors. This work not only highlights the influence of fluid mechanical effects on the crystallization and mechanical properties of conjugated polymers but also opens up exciting possibilities for integrating these functional fibers into wearable electronics.