Microwave-assisted scalable CNTs/TPU yarns for highly durable and sensitive wearable sensors

Elastic conductive yarn, with its soft, stretchable, conformable, and weavable properties, is an ideal material for wearable strain sensors. However, conventional rigid conductive coatings often exhibit poor interfacial bonding with highly stretchable polymer matrices, resulting in limited stretchability, unstable conductivity, and poor durability. Based on this, a microwave-assisted anchored porous CNTs/TPU yarn was proposed as a highly sensitive and durable stretchable sensor. The yarns with microcrack structures were fabricated using simple and scalable wet spinning and pre-stretching techniques, followed by microwave-assisted embedding or anchoring of CNTs onto the TPU yarn surface to enhance sensor durability and usability. The sensor exhibits exceptional performance, including a broad detection range (0–200 %), high sensitivity (gauge factor up to 1370.84), rapid response/recovery times (250 ms/260 ms), and reliable human motion signal monitoring. Importantly, the microwave-anchored yarn shows reliable stability over 15,000 cycles, with durability at least 10 times greater than unanchored yarn. Furthermore, the yarn exhibits excellent water resistance (withstanding 20 washes), making it suitable for underwater electronic applications. The proposed fabrication strategy combines simplicity, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, presenting a viable pathway for manufacturing next-generation durable smart textiles for wearable sensing, soft robotics, and aquatic electronic systems.