Multifunctional MXene/CNTs based flexible electronic textile with excellent strain sensing, electromagnetic interference shielding and Joule heating performances

Abstract

High-performance electronic textile with outstanding strain sensing, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and Joule heating performances are highly desirable for modern integrated smart wearable electronic devices. Herein, multifunctional electronic textile based on hybrid Ti3C2Tx MXene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) conductive nanomaterials coated thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) non-woven fabric (MCT-fabric) is fabricated via a facile dip-coating approach. Based on the synergistic MXene/CNTs conductive coating and pre-stretching induced ultrasensitive microcrack structure, tunable conductive MCT-fabric strain sensor with high sensitivity (GF is as high as 9022), wide sensing range (∼210 %), rapid response/recovery time (140/160 ms), excellent long-term stability and reliability (∼1000 cycles) is successfully constructed. Besides, benefiting from the perfect synergistic conductive network and porous fibrous network structure, the MCT-fabric displays superior EMI shielding effectiveness (∼43 dB for the MCT-fabric with a thickness of 600 μm) and excellent thermal management performance including high Joule heating temperature at relatively low applied voltages, rapid Joule heating response, sufficient heating stability and reliability. This work indicates that the high-performance multifunctional electronic textile has attractive potential for strain sensing, EMI shielding and thermal management applications in artificial intelligence and emerging wearable electronics.