Chemical O<sub>2</sub>-generated aerogel-structured wearable microreactors.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42091915.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-72772-3.
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Abstract
Wearable chemical microreactors are highly desirable for life-sustaining processes such as on-demand oxygen-generation, but their development has been hindered by the lack of materials that combine dynamic robustness, textile integrability, and ultra-efficient fluid transport. Herein, we show a wearable microreactor based on armored aramid aerogel hollow fibers. Reinforcing these fibers with heat-shrink tubing yields textile-compliant elasticity while preserving their nanoporous structure. Subsequently, infusing a low-surface-energy liquid into the mesopores of aerogel walls creates a nanoconfined lubricant layer that reduces microfluidic drag by up to 68.1% compared to solid-walled channels. Finally, a O<sub>2</sub>-generated wearable microreactor prototype (268 g) achieves high space-time yield, 100% oxygen purity, and maintaining oxygen-supply under physical stress. In vivo trials at 4998 meters altitude demonstrate rapid blood oxygen saturation recovery, effectively alleviating acute hypoxia. This work establishes a materials paradigm that overcomes the trade-off between wearability and continuous-flow microreactor in on-body chemical synthesis.