Stretchable Conductive Polypyrrole/Polyurethane (PPy/PU) Strain Sensor with Netlike Microcracks for Human Breath Detection

The development of wearable electronics that can monitor human physiological information demands specially structured materials with excellent stretchability and electrical conductivity. In this study, a new stretchable conductive polypyrrole/polyurethane (PPy/PU) elastomer was designed and prepared by surface diffusion and in situ polymerization of PPy inside and on porous PU substrates. The structures allowed the formation of netlike microcracks under stretching. The netlike microcrack structures make possible the reversible changes in the electrical resistance of PPy/PU elastomers under stretching and releasing cycles. The variations in morphology and chemical structures, stretchability, and conductivity as well as the sensitivity of resistance change under stretching cycles were investigated. The mechanism of reversible conductivity of the PPy/PU elastomer was proposed. This property was then used to construct a waistband-like human breath detector. The results demonstrated its potential as a strain sensor for human health care applications by showing reversible resistance changes in the repeated stretching and contracting motion when human breathes in and out.