The wallpaper, developed by Ying-Jie ZHU at the CAS Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, is based on ultralong nanowires made of hydroxyapatite which give the material a high flexibility. The thermosensitive sensor is loaded on the surface by a simple drop-casting process with an ink containing polydopamine containing graphene oxide, which is electrically insulating at room temperature. When exposed to heat, the oxygen-containing groups are removed, making the material highly conductive. Connected to an alarm, the alarm goes off when a fire occurs and the sensor begins to conduct electricity.

CAS news release, April 4, 2018