A collaborative research team led by Professor Hyung Woo Lee of the School of Advanced Convergence for Future Energy Major and the Humanoid Olfactory Display Innovation Research Center at Pusan National University, in collaboration with Dr. Myungkwan Song's team at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed a multifunctional electronic fiber capable of simultaneously harvesting solar energy and detecting hazardous gases through the incorporation of UiO-66 metal–organic x-frameworks (MOFs). Dr. Jae Ho Kim of Pusan National University served as the first and corresponding author of the study.

Wearable electronics that combine energy harvesting and environmental sensing in a single platform are highly desirable for next-generation smart textiles. Here, fluorine- and amino-functionalized UiO-66 metal–organic x-frameworks (MOFs) are incorporated into mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes to develop multifunctional electronic fibers capable of simultaneous solar energy harvesting and hazardous gas detection. The MOF-modified photoanodes provide increased surface area for dye adsorption and facilitate charge transport, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 7.16% for the UiO-66-F-based fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cell, a ~29% improvement over the pristine device, along with superior photocurrent generation under low-light indoor conditions. The same fiber platform is further integrated with gas-sensing functionality: owing to the strong affinity of UiO-66-F toward H2S, the fiber sensor exhibits a high response of ~97% toward 100 ppm H2S with rapid response and recovery, whereas pristine TiO2-based fibers show negligible sensing performance. The fibers retain more than 70–80% of their initial performance after repeated bending and washing, confirming their mechanical durability. This work presents a unified strategy for integrating energy harvesting and gas sensing into a single fiber architecture, offering a promising route toward self-powered wearable sensors, smart clothing, and IoT-based environmental monitoring platforms.

- Authors (Pusan National University)

 · Corresponding author: Hyung Woo Lee (Advanced Energy Major, School of Transdisciplinary Engineering and Humanoid Olfactory Display Innovation Research Center)

 · First author & Corresponding author: Jae Ho Kim (Humanoid Olfactory Display Innovation Research Center)

- Title of original paper: Dual functional enhancement of H2S gas sensing and fiber dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency using UiO-66 MOFs 

- Journal: Chemical Engineering Journal

- Web link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.178271

- Contact e-mail: lhw2010@pusan.ac.kr