Wearable flexible strain sensors have attracted increasing research interest due to their potential applications in motion detection, healthcare, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence. In this work, a novel kind of conductive PDMS/(CB+CNTs)/TPU composite was prepared and applied for assembling a flexible strain sensor, i.e., thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as a polymer matrix, carbon black (CB) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as hybrid conductive nanofillers, and then modified by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for achieving super-hydrophobicity. Experimental results reveal that the sensor exhibits the advantages: 1) Excellent mechanical properties, i.e., the tensile strength of the composite increased from 5.88 MPa to 8.88 MPa; 2) Excellent sensing performances, i.e., the highest sensitivity up to 49,863.5, and high repeatability and durability during a cyclic tension-release test (50% strain); 3) Multi-functions include good electrical conductivity, super-hydrophobicity with a static water contact angle as high as 152°, and favorable flexibility; 4) It possessed a high cost-performance ratio due to the simple preparation process, i.e., electrospinning, ultrasonic adsorption treatment, and PDMS modification, and cheap raw materials, such as PDMS, CB, and TPU when compared with similar sensors. The sensor is applied to monitor and detect the full range of human body movements, such as joint movement, breathing, coughing, and speaking, which shows broad application prospects in wearable electronic products.

中文翻译：

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基于碳纳米材料增强TPU纤维的高灵敏度多功能可穿戴传感器


可穿戴柔性应变传感器由于其在运动检测、医疗保健、人机交互和人工智能方面的潜在应用而吸引了越来越多的研究兴趣。在这项工作中，制备了一种新型导电PDMS/(CB+CNTs)/TPU复合材料，并将其用于组装柔性应变传感器，即热塑性聚氨酯(TPU)作为聚合物基体、炭黑(CB)和碳纳米管（CNT）作为混合导电纳米填料，然后通过聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）进行改性以实现超疏水性。实验结果表明，该传感器表现出以下优点：1）优异的力学性能，复合材料的拉伸强度从5.88 MPa提高到8.88 MPa； 2）优异的传感性能，最高灵敏度可达49,863.5，并且在循环拉伸释放测试（50%应变）过程中具有高重复性和耐用性； 3）多功能，包括良好的导电性、超疏水性（静态水接触角高达152°）以及良好的柔韧性； 4）与同类传感器相比，静电纺丝、超声波吸附处理、PDMS改性等制备工艺简单，PDMS、CB、TPU等原材料廉价，具有较高的性价比。该传感器用于监测和检测人体全方位运动，如关节运动、呼吸、咳嗽、说话等，在可穿戴电子产品中显示出广阔的应用前景。