Flexible Textile Strain Wireless Sensor Functionalized with Hybrid Carbon Nanomaterials Supported ZnO Nanowires with Controlled Aspect Ratio

Abstract

Smart fabrics and interactive textiles have attracted great interest as a newly emergent material because of their multifunctional capabilities. Herein, a highly robust wireless flexible strain sensor on the basis of commercial textile by the integration of functional hybrid carbon nanomaterials and piezoresistive material is fabricated. Specifically, a solution-processable spray-assisted coating approach that enables the creation of a uniform coating over a large area of fabrics is employed. The textile-based strain sensor exhibits a highly stable and immediate response over a wide range of bending curvatures and structural properties of ZnO nanowires because of their different deflection behaviors. The wearing performance with attaching on commercial fabrics is further demonstrated. The as-prepared sensor responds well to diverse body motions with accurate detection of strain magnitude and even extends its viability in wireless remote sensing by connecting to a wireless transmitter. The novel approach for the modification of textiles with functional nanomaterials may provide a feasible approach for the production of textile-based electronics without employing any sophisticated fabrication processes, and it further exploits the diverse functionalities by utilizing various sensing components.