Ultra-highly stretchable and anisotropic SEBS/F127 fiber films equipped with an adaptive deformable carbon nanotube layer for dual-mode strain sensing. Issue 34 (17th August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dong, Jiancheng; Li, Le; Zhang, Chao; Ma, Piming; Dong, Weifu; Huang, Yunpeng; Liu, Tianxi
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 9:Issue 34(2021)
• Page Start: 18294
• Page End: 18305
• Publication Date: 2021-08-17
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d1ta04563f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : We delicately designed and fabricated an anisotropic fibrous film-based strain sensor with remarkable dual-mode sensing capabilities to respectively achieve an ultra-wide workable range and high sensitivity in two loading directions. Abstract : Conductive elastomer composites are widely recognized as prospective strain sensing materials in soft robotics and biomedical engineering due to their high elasticity and light weight. However, achieving high-performance strain sensors with a broad sensing range and high gauge factor synchronously is still challenging due to the trade-off between sensitivity and stretchability. In this work, an anisotropic fiber film-based strain sensor with extraordinary dual-mode sensing capabilities was developed using highly aligned styrene- block -poly(ethylene- ran -butylene)- block -poly-styrene (SEBS)/PEO–PPO–PEO triblock copolymer (F127) fiber films as an anisotropic elastomer matrix and intimately incorporated multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a deformable conductive coating. Via blending F127 with SEBS to endow the elastomer with superhydrophilicity, aligned electrospinning was subsequently employed to prepare highly stretchable and hydrophilic SEBS/F127 fiber films, followed by surface-induced assembly to obtain anisotropic CNT/SEBS/F127 composite fiber films equipped with an adaptive deformable CNT conducting layer. Attributed to the strong interfacial interaction between CNTs and the anisotropic fiber matrix, the obtained CNT/SEBS/F127 sensor exhibited excellent mechanical strength and exceptional dual-mode strain-sensing performance in terms of an ultra-broad response range (up to 1300% strain) and an ultra-high sensitivity (GF value of 3564 at 700% strain) when stretching parallel and perpendicular to the fiber alignment, respectively, as well as fast response/recover times (51 ms/71 ms in parallel, and 100 ms/100 ms in perpendicular) and great sensing stabilities (5000 stretching–releasing cycles) in both loading directions. Additionally, the CNT/SEBS/F127 strain sensor was able to detect various human motions, such as breathing, phonation and joint bending, presenting great potential in next-generation wearable electronics.