A flexible conductive hybrid elastomer for high-precision stress/strain and humidity detection

Flexible and environment-responsive materials are essential for a large number of applications from artificial skin to wearable devices. The present study develops a flexible, ultra-low cost conductive hybrid elastomer (CHE), which possesses high responsive capabilities to stress/strain and humidity. CHE was composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and starch hydrogel (SH), enabling great elasticity (56 kPa), high conductivity (10(-2) S/m) and high sensitivity to external stimuli (gauge factor of CHE under stress and strain are 0.71 and 2.22, respectively, and sensitivity to humidity is 1.2 x 10(-6) S/m per RH%). These properties render CHE a promising candidate for artificial skin and wearable electronics applications of continuously monitoring environmental information. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.