Highly strain-tolerant, disposable gas sensor on plastic wrap using two-dimensional hybrid nanomaterials

Abstract

Highly stretchable and disposable gas sensors were fabricated on household polyethylene (PE) wrap, employing rGO/Ti3C2Tx MXene hybrid as gas-detecting medium. The fabrication procedure simply consisted of solution mixing of components and drop casting of the mixture. Furthermore, the PE wrap was cheap, stretchable, and sticky, well-fitting for one-time usable sensor applications. The rGO/Ti3C2Tx hybrid particles were evenly distributed on PE, while rGO and Ti3C2Tx MXene were in good contact in individual hybrid particles. The as-fabricated gas sensors could endure large strains of >100%, and responded to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and methane (CH4) gases at room temperature. Notably, a stretchable gas sensor with optimal material combination retained good sensitivity to NO2 even under large strains up to 100%. No response degradation was observed. The enhanced gas response and superb strain endurance were explained on the basis of the synergistic interplay of structural components.