Fibrous Conductive Metallogels with Hybrid Electron/Ion Networks for Boosted Extreme Sensitivity And High Linearity Strain Sensor.

Fibrous strain sensing materials with both high sensitivity and high linearity is of significant importance for wearable sensors, yet still faces great challenges. Herein, a photo-spun reaction encapsulation strategy is proposed for continuous fabrication of fibrous strain sensor materials (AMGF) with a core-sheath structure. Metallogels (MOGs) formed by bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers and Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs), and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) are employed as the core and sheath, respectively. The in-suit ultraviolet light reduction of Ag + ensured AgNPs to maintain the interconnections between the BC nanofibers and form an electron conductive networks (0.31 S m -1 ). Under applied strain, the BC nanofibers experienced separation, bringing AMGF a high sensitivity (gauge factor 4.36). The concentration of free ions in the MOGs uniformly varied with applied deformation, endowing AMGF with high linearity and a goodness-of-fit of 0.98. The sheath TPE provided AMGF sensor with stable working life (>10 000 seconds). Furthermore, the AMGF sensors were demonstrated to monitor complex deformations of the dummy joints in real-time as a wearable sensor. Therefore, the fibrous hybrid conductive networks fibers fabricated via the photo-spun reaction encapsulation strategy provide a new route for addressing the challenge of achieving both high sensitivity and high linearity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.