An integrative warning-protection shear thickened composite sponge towards sensing performance and impact resistance with excellent flame retardant

The mechanical shock and thermal damage generally exist together in hazardous environment, whereas traditional single protective materials are difficult to achieve all-round protection under extreme environment. Herein, to realize the integration of multifunctional abilities about impact resistance, flame-retardant and sensing performance, a “solid-liquid host-guest” structural shear thickened composite sponge is proposed, which flame-retardant shear thickening fluids with an extraordinary thickening ratio of 2183.95 % continuously disperse in 3D sponge matrix. The resulting composite sponge effectively attenuates the impact force by nearly 80% with the thickness of only 4 mm via a cooperation between the effect of shear hardening and structure densification. Meanwhile, after burning on the alcohol flame for 12 s, the composite sponge with 7 wt.% fire-retardant additive maintains a complete morphology and realizes self-extinguishing with a reliable flame-retardant ability. Attributed to the good electrical conductivity of shear thickening fluid, the composite sponge serves favorably in human body monitoring, impact sensing and fire warning. In a word, this multifunctional lightweight composite sponge is expected to realize the integration of early warning and protection, which is a competitive candidate material for the intelligent protection in complex environments.