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Vol. 18 (2026)

Sustainable Carbon Aerogels from Polyolefin Plastics for High-Linearity Bidirectional Strain Sensing

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02196-7
Yang Yue
State Key Laboratory of High‑Performance Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Hui Bi
State Key Laboratory of High‑Performance Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Shiyu Zhang
State Key Laboratory of High‑Performance Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Chen Luan
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Industrial Solid Waste Thermal Hydrolysis Technology and Intelligent Equipment, Huzhou University, Huzhou 313000, People’s Republic of China
Zhangliu Tian
State Key Laboratory of High‑Performance Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Dayong Ren
State Key Laboratory of High‑Performance Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Fuqiang Huang
Key Laboratory of Intelligent Creation for Extreme Energy Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering and Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Fuqiang Huang

huangfq@sjtu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 362

Abstract

Achieving highly linear and sensitive strain sensing under both tensile and compressive deformation remains a critical challenge in wearable electronics, as it demands a conductive network capable of reversible reconfiguration without compromising structural uniformity. This challenge is further intensified in hierarchical carbon nanostructures, where catalyst deactivation and unregulated carbon supply frequently lead to nonuniform nanocarbon growth and severely heterogeneous conductive pathways. Herein, we report a hierarchical carbon aerogel derived from plastics. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are in situ grown on elastic carbonized cotton fibers via plastic pyrolysis, enabled by Ni–S-modified catalytic interface and sustained carbon flux from plastic decomposition. The coupled regulation suppresses uneven nanocarbon deposition, yielding an elastic fibrous backbone densely interconnected by CNFs. The resulting network facilitates reversible reconstruction of conductive contacts under tension and compression, delivering a nearly linear electromechanical response over a broad bidirectional strain window with linear gauge factors of 7.8 at 82% tension and 1.7 at 28% compression, while maintaining stable sensitivity over 5000 cycles within a ± 20% strain window. Overall, this work achieves a wide bidirectional strain range, high sensitivity, and long-term stability, rarely combined in carbon-based strain sensors. Moreover, it reliably resolves strain direction and magnitude, enables sensitive adhesion sensing and joint-motion monitoring, highlighting its potential for next-generation human–machine interfaces.


Highlights:
1 Ni–S interfacial regulation combined with sustained carbon feeding from plastics enables uniform, controllable carbon nanofibers growth on cotton, producing a conductive and elastic carbon aerogel.
2 Aerogel encapsulation delivers near-linear, wide-range bidirectional strain sensing without signal saturation or pronounced asymmetry.
3 Coaxial bidirectional outputs quantify adhesion dynamics and extract a force-independent interfacial adhesion coefficient for bio-interfaces.

Keywords

Plastic upcycling Sulfur-modulated catalysts Hierarchical carbon aerogels Coaxial bidirectional strain sensors Linear and sensitive sensing region
Yue, Yang, Hui Bi, Shiyu Zhang, Chen Luan, Zhangliu Tian, Dayong Ren, and Fuqiang Huang. 2026. “Sustainable Carbon Aerogels from Polyolefin Plastics for High-Linearity Bidirectional Strain Sensing”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (May):362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02196-7.
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