Polypyrrole-coated large deformation strain fabric sensor and its properties study

Conductive-polymer coated fabrics have been investigated as intelligent materials in the past years. In this paper, a flexible fabric strain sensor coated with polypyrrole is reported, which is featured with high sensitivity, good stability and large deformation. It is fabricated by chemical vapor deposition at low temperature. The effects of temperature, humidity, acid and alkaline medium have been assessed. The conductivity-strain tests reveal the sensor exhibits a high strain sensitivity of ~160 for a deformation as large as 50%, while its good stability is indicated by a small loss of conductivity after the thermal and humidity aging tests, and supported by the slight change in conductivity and sensitivity over a storage of eighteen months. The acid and alkaline solution mainly decreased their initial conductivity but have the slight effect to their sensitivity. The flexible fabric strain sensor is expected to be a promising “soft” smart material in the smart garment, wearable hardware and biomedical applications.