Time-Resolved and Self-Adjusting Hybrid Functional Fabric Sensor for Decoupling Multiple Stimuli from Bending

Multi-parametric sensing fabrics have the potential to lead a new generation of applications in a wide variety of fields. Nevertheless, the use of these devices in complex environments depends on the ability of the sensing fabrics to decouple between various stimuli co-existing in a complex environment. Fabric backbones with dispersed single-wall carbon nanotubes and molecularly modified gold nanoparticles in elastomer outerwear of styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene for multifunctional detection of complex physical and chemical stimuli are presented. This feature of the fabric–elastomer structure endows time-resolved insensitivity to strain; furthermore, it enables decoupling pressure/relative humidity from curving surfaces. It is also shown that applying incompatible regression models to the time-resolved output signals gives excellent discrimination between various stimuli collected from a complex environment.