From 100% Utilization of MAX/MXene to Direct Engineering of Wearable, Multifunctional E-Textiles in Extreme Environments

Transition metal carbides/nitrides (MXenes) show great potential for preparing wearable, flexible multifunctional e-textiles due to the exceptional electrical and mechanical properties and easy processing in aqueous medium. At present, MXene-based e-textiles face challenges including high production costs, low utilization of precursor titanium aluminum carbide (MAX), poor durability in extreme environments, and the inability to achieve a balance between large-scale fabrication and high performance. Here, this work proposes a 100% utilization of MAX/MXene strategy to produce additive-free conductive inks with controllable viscosity, subsequently enabling an accessible, scalable direct-blade-coating followed by chemical cross-linking approach for creating wearable, high-performance, multifunctional MXene-based e-textiles that perform in extreme conditions. The structural design provides integrated multifunctionality involving controllable and exceptional electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding within an ultrabroadband frequency range, visual electrothermal conversion, electrothermal deicing, remarkable visual photothermal, and antibacterial performance. This work employs a fabrication process that is simple, cost-effective, and scalable, presenting a novel 100% efficiency and waste-to-wealth strategy to manufacture robust, durable, multifunctional e-textiles. This approach provides exciting potential for the next generation of wearable electronics, EMI compatibility, visual heating, thermotherapy, antibacterial treatments, deicing, defense, and aerospace applications.

Automated summary

Transition metal carbides/nitrides (MXenes) have potential for preparing wearable, flexible multifunctional e-textiles due to their exceptional electrical and mechanical properties. However, challenges such as high production costs and low utilization of precursor titanium aluminum carbide (MAX) need to be addressed. This work proposes a 100% utilization of MAX/MXene strategy to produce additive-free conductive inks for creating durable, multifunctional MXene-based e-textiles that perform in extreme conditions.