Stretchable and Temperature-Insensitive Sensing Yarn with a Wide Temperature Range

Abstract

With the advancement of wearable devices, textiles as flexible substrates are increasingly applied in strain sensors to enhance flexibility and wearing comfort for monitoring physiological signals and recognizing gestures. However, obtaining resistive strain sensors with stable electrical conductivity and precise signals remains a great challenge since ambient temperature fluctuation significantly compromises sensitivity and reliability in practical applications. Addressing this, we proposed a near-zero temperature coefficient resistive (TCR) yarn sensor with a three-layer coaxial structure, namely NZ-TCRY. The near-zero resistivity behavior of the yarn sensor is achieved by using silver nanowires (AgNWs) with a positive TCR behavior to compensate for the negative TCR behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). To achieve thermos-protective behavior under high temperature conditions, aramid fibers were spun into yarn sheaths. Based on the aforementioned materials and structural designs, the NZ-TCRY sensor achieved an approximately zero TCR value (| TCR | ≤ 2.21 × 10⁻⁴ K⁻¹) from − 20 °C to 130 °C, high sensitivity (3.3977), fast transient response (≤ 72 ms), and remarkable durability (over 20,000 cycles). The NZ-TCRY sensor can be seamlessly integrated with smart wearables and soft robot-sensor integration for various applications, such as gesture recognition, intelligent sorting, and human–machine interaction, precisely recognizing objects with different sizes and weights across diverse temperature conditions. This work provides an effective approach to solving the issue of temperature dependence for preparing sensitive and flexible strain sensors and expanding the application prospects in healthcare, personal protection, artificial intelligence, and digital twins.

Keywords

E-textiles / Strain sensor / Temperature coefficient of resistance / Human movement detection

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(52173059)

Major Basic Research Project of the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(21KJA540002)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China

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