Polyurethane (PU) sponge with high elasticity and reproducibility
shows promising application in flexible electronic devices. However,
the poor conductivity and high flammability limit its application
field, which also pose a potential threat to human health. Here, a
flexible sponge sensor based on PU and polypyrrole-wrapped halloysite
nanotubes (PPy@HNTs) was successfully fabricated by the dip coating
technology. The PPy-modified HNTs showed strong binding ability on
the PU sponge by employing N,N-dimethylformamide
(DMF) as an interfacial solvent. PPy@HNTs can well adhere on the surface
of the PU sponge, which endow excellent structural stability to the
flexible sponge sensor after 5000 cycles. The response and recovery
times during the sensitivity experiment of the flexible sponge sensor
are 265.63 and 265.62 ms, respectively. The flexible sponge sensor
can effectively detect various physical activities, such as walking,
facial expression, and gesture. It can be used as an analytical balance
for quality monitoring. Moreover, the flexible sponge sensor exhibits
excellent photothermal performance, which is reflected in the good
relationship between resistance change and laser irradiation time
as well as power intensity. The coating of PPy@HNTs also significantly
improved the flame retardancy of the PU sponge. This work developed
a mild, high-efficiency, and simple preparation method of flexible
sponge sensors, and the prepared sensor displayed multifunctional
applications such as biological detection and electronic balances.