Highly Stretchable, Directionally Oriented Carbon Nanotube/PDMS Conductive Films with Enhanced Sensitivity as Wearable Strain Sensors.

Recent interest in the fields of human motion monitoring, electronic skin, and human-machine interface technology demands strain sensors with high stretchability/compressibility (ε > 50%), high sensitivity (or gauge factor (GF > 100)), and long-lasting electromechanical compliance. However, current metal- and semiconductor-based strain sensors have very low (ε < 5%) stretchability or low sensitivity (GF < 2), typically sacrificing the stretchability for high sensitivity. Composite elastomer sensors are a solution where the challenge is to improve the sensitivity to GF > 100.