Nanocellulose-Assisted Construction of Multifunctional MXene-Based Aerogels with Engineering Biomimetic Texture for Pressure Sensor and Compressible Electrode

Abstract

Highlights

Hyperelastic and superlight multifunctional MXene/nanocellulose composite aerogels with high conductivity are designed by constructing biomimetic texture.

The MXene/nanocellulose aerogels as flexible pressure sensors exhibit appealing linear sensitivity performance (817.3 kPa−1).

The as-prepared compressible supercapacitor with MXene/nanocellulose electrodes reveals superior electrochemical performance (849.2 mF cm−2 at 0.8 mA cm−2).

Abstract Multifunctional architecture with intriguing structural design is highly desired for realizing the promising performances in wearable sensors and flexible energy storage devices. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is employed for assisting in building conductive, hyperelastic, and ultralight Ti3C2Tx MXene hybrid aerogels with oriented tracheid-like texture. The biomimetic hybrid aerogels are constructed by a facile bidirectional freezing strategy with CNF, carbon nanotube (CNT), and MXene based on synergistic electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding. Entangled CNF and CNT “mortars” bonded with MXene “bricks” of the tracheid structure produce good interfacial binding, and superior mechanical strength (up to 80% compressibility and extraordinary fatigue resistance of 1000 cycles at 50% strain). Benefiting from the biomimetic texture, CNF/CNT/MXene aerogel shows ultralow density of 7.48 mg cm−3 and excellent electrical conductivity (~ 2400 S m−1). Used as pressure sensors, such aerogels exhibit appealing sensitivity performance with the linear sensitivity up to 817.3 kPa−1, which affords their application in monitoring body surface information and detecting human motion. Furthermore, the aerogels can also act as electrode materials of compressive solid-state supercapacitors that reveal satisfactory electrochemical performance (849.2 mF cm−2 at 0.8 mA cm−2) and superior long cycle compression performance (88% after 10,000 cycles at a compressive strain of 30%).