Constructing conductive titanium carbide nanosheet (MXene) network on natural rubber foam framework for flexible strain sensor

Sensors, as one of the crucial components of wearable electronics, have attracted much attention due to their extensive application in healthcare, human-machine interfaces, electronic skins (E-skins), rehabilitation, and internet of things. However, there is still a challenge to fabricate flexible strain sensors with both good sensitivity and large working strain range. Herein, a facile, scalable, and low-cost strategy is developed to prepare highly sensitive strain sensors based on natural rubber foam and Ti3C2Tx nanosheeets (MXene/NR) by dip-coating method. The fabricated MXene/NR composite exhibits excellent strain sensitivity and large strain range. The gage factor of the MXene/NR composite reaches 14 in the strain range of 0-5% with a low pressure limitation of detection (435 Pa). Additionally, the sensing range is as large as 0-80% of strain and shows good stability during the pressing and relaxing cycles. It is demonstrated that the MXene/NR composite could be used to detect motions, such as finger pressing and step monitoring, suggesting it is a promising candidate for fabricating wearable electronics.

Automated summary

This study presents a facile and low-cost method to fabricate highly sensitive strain sensors based on a composite of natural rubber foam and Ti3C2Tx nanosheets (MXene/NR) using the dip-coating technique. The fabricated MXene/NR composite exhibits excellent sensitivity and a large working strain range, making it a promising candidate for wearable electronics.