PPy-coated electrically conducting fabrics with high strain sensitivity

This paper studies a flexible strain sensor from PPy-coated fabric prepared by a chemical vapor deposition procedure under low temperature. The mechanisms of its strain sensing behavior were investigated. In-situ tensile tests in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were conducted for PPy-coated electrically conducting yarns prepared in the same procedure as that for the PPy-coated fabric. The results exhibited the developed PPy-coated fabric possessed the high strain sensitivity and the large workable strain range, which attribute to the high performance of PPy-coated PU fibers and the crack-opening and crack-closing mechanism happened on the surface of PU fibers, as well as the excellent properties of knitted fabric structure.