Self-reduction assisted MXene/silver composite Tencel cellulose-based fabric with electrothermal conversion and NIR photothermal actuation

Abstract

Smart e-textiles, which are capable of wireless transmission, signal conversion and energy transduction, have the capability to provide added values and be more versatile. However, there are still many challenges in fabricating a flexible and durable smart fabric with high-level multifunctional integration. Herein, a novel two-dimensional (2D) material, Ti3C2Tx MXene, and zero-dimensional (0D) material, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were coupled to fabricate a smart Tencel fabric with electrical and light versatility. Through self-reduction reaction, silver nitrate can be reduced to AgNPs because the existence of reductant, MXene, and the 0D AgNPs with an average diameter of about 500 nm were uniformly distributed on the 2D MXene nanosheets, enabling flexible conductive points and paths for the MS fabric. Benefiting from excellent hydrophilicity and rich terminals of MXene, the interface bonding force was enough to get a uniform fabric. Because of the enhanced electrical conductivity of MXene/AgNPs, the MXene/silver nanoparticles (MS) Tencel fabric exhibited excellent electrothermal property (The cyclic temperature is 57.1 °C at 30 s heating time under 6.0 V voltage) as well as thermal sensing performance, and can serve as an element of array heating devices. In addition, the MS fabric also has photothermal (maximal bending angle was 149° at 31 s) capability due to the conversion of near-infrared (NIR) light by MXene and the asymmetric thermal expansion of two encapsulated Ecoflex layers, enabling a rapid-responsive photothermal actuator. With thermal and NIR sensitive capabilities, the MS Tencel fabric performed thermal sensation and has the potential in thermal sensitive robots. Graphical abstract