Polyimide/Carboxylated Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Aerogel Fibers for Fabric Sensors: Implications for Information Acquisition and Joule Heating in Harsh Environments

Polymeric hybrid sensors have garnered great interest in health monitoring, human-computer interaction, and soft robotics for their lightweight, flexibility, and feasible fabrication process. However, polymeric hybrid sensors suitable for harsh environments remain a considerable challenge, limiting further application. Herein, polyimide (PI)/carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotube (c-MWCNT) hybrid aerogel fibers with a micro-porous structure were fabricated via wet-spinning and chemical thermal imidization. The fabricated PI/c-MWCNT hybrid aerogel fibers' conductivity and the change of current in response to the bending degree were tested, in which the relative current change achieved 4.78% with a bending degree of 150 degrees. The fibers possessed a density of 0.41 +/- 0.06 g/cm3, a conductivity of 17.8 +/- 2.9 mu S/m, and a tensile strength of 13.0 +/- 1.1 MPa. In addition, they exhibited excellent heat/cold durability, whose decomposition temperature, cold resistance, and service life were 367 degrees C, -196 degrees C, and 300 cycles, respectively. Furthermore, the fabric sensor woven with PI/c-MWCNT hybrid aerogel fibers demonstrated two sensitivity stages of stage 1 (S1) = 6.04 and stage 2 (S2) = 0.55 under various pressures. Besides, it could be heated to 62 degrees C at a voltage of 30 Vin 90 s with a changing resistance. The above properties demonstrate that the as-prepared fabric sensor exhibited great application potential for information acquisition and joule heating in harsh environments.