<i>In Situ</i> Loading of Polypyrrole onto Aramid Nanofiber and Carbon Nanotube Aerogel Fibers as Physiology and Motion Sensors

Abstract

Nanocomposite conductive fiber has been newly developed as a lightweight material with high flexibility and strong weavability, which can meet the requirements of flexible wearable devices. Herein, lightweight porous aramid nanofibers (ANF) and carbon nanotube (CNT) aerogel fibers coated with polypyrrole (PPy) layers are prepared by a wet spinning method for motion detection and information transmission. The ANF/CNT/PPy aerogel fiber with low density (56.3 mg/cm³), conductivity (6.43 S/m), and tensile strength (2.88 MPa) were used as motion sensors with high sensitivity (0.12) and long life (1000 cycles). At the same time, the differential conductivity of aerogel fibers is utilized to reduce the information transmission time (up to 46%). High- and low-temperature-resistant (-196 to 100 °C) aerogel fibers are also available as a quick heater and ionic solution detector. In summary, the prepared ANF/CNT/PPy aerogel fiber can be used as a multifunctional sensor for human-health detection and motion monitoring.