Room-Temperature, Highly Durable Ti3C2Tx MXene/Graphene Hybrid Fibers for NH3 Gas Sensing

Abstract

Graphene-based fibers (GFs) have aroused enormous interest in portable, wearable electronics because of their excellent mechanical flexibility, electrical conductivity, and weavability, which make them advantageous for wearable electronic devices. Herein, we report the development of metal binder-free Ti3C2Tx MXene/graphene hybrid fibers by a scalable wet-spinning process. These hybrid fibers exhibit excellent mechanical and electrical properties for applications in flexible wearable gas sensors. The synergistic effects of electronic properties and gas-adsorption capabilities of MXene/graphene allow the created fibers to show high NH3 gas sensitivity at room temperature. The hybrid fibers exhibited significantly improved NH3 sensing response (Delta R/R-0 = 6.77%) compared with individual MXene and graphene. The hybrid fibers also showed excellent mechanical flexibility with a minimal fluctuation of resistance of +/- 0.2% and low noise resistance even after bending over 2000 cycles, enabling gas sensing during deformation. Furthermore, flexible MXene/graphene hybrid fibers were woven into a lab coat, demonstrating their high potential for wearable devices. We envisage that these exciting features of 2D hybrid materials will provide a novel pathway for designing next-generation portable wearable gas sensors.