writer：Yahong Li, Bing Zhou, Guoqiang Zheng(通讯作者), Xianhu Liu, Tingxi Li, Chao Yan, Chuanbing Cheng, Kun Da
keywords：conductive yarns, carbon nanotubes, electrospinning, strain sensor, wearable electronics
source：期刊
specific source：Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2018,6: 2258-2269
Issue time：2018年

Highly conductive and stretchable yarns have attracted increasing attentions due to their potential applications in wearable electronics. Integration of conductive yarns with large stretchable capability renders the composite yarns with new intriguing functions, such as monitoring human body motions and health. However, to simultaneously endow the yarns with high conductivity and stretchability using an easily scalable approach is still a challenge. Here highly conductive and stretchable yarns based on electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fiber yarns successively decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were prepared by a combined electrospinning, ultrasonication adsorbing and bobbin winder technique. The improved thermal stability of the SWNTs/MWNTs/TPU yarn (SMTY) indicated strong interfacial interactions between CNTs and electrospun TPU fibers. The synergism from successively decorated SWNTs and MWNTs significantly enhanced the conductivity of TPU yarns (up to 13 S/cm). The as-fabricated yarns can be easily integrated into strain sensors, exhibiting high stretchability with large workable strain range (100%) and good cyclic stability (2000 cycles). Moreover, such yarn can be attached to human body or knitted into textiles to monitor joint motions, showing promising potentials for wearable electronics, such as wearable strain sensors.