Ultralight and Hyperelastic Nanofiber-Reinforced MXene-Graphene Aerogel for High-Performance Piezoresistive Sensor

3D aerogel-based piezoresistive sensors have attracted tremendous attention due to their high sensitivity and excellent mechanical properties. Here, a novel piezoresistive sensor with ultrahigh linear sensitivity is tactfully designed and prepared based on nanofiber-reinforced MXene-reduced graphene oxide aerogel. The presence of MXene endows the piezoresistive sensor with high conductivity. Besides, the nanofibers can act as a scaffold to improve the compression resilience of the aerogel significantly by penetrating the entire aerogel network. Furthermore, due to the synergy effect among the multiple components, the prepared piezoresistive sensor exhibits outstanding performance, including high linear sensitivity (331 kPa(-1) from 0 to 500 Pa, 126 kPa(-1) from 500 Pa to 7.5 kPa), fast response time (load 71 ms, recovery 15 ms), and low detection limit (1.25 Pa). More importantly, it can maintain stable signal output even after 17 000 compression cycles. Furthermore, the prepared sensor can efficiently detect breathing, heartbeat, and vocalization of the human body in real time. Based on these advantages, the prepared sensor is expected to show significant potentials in future flexible wearable electronic devices.

Automated summary

The novel piezoresistive sensor shows excellent performance with high sensitivity, fast response time, and low detection limit. It can maintain stable signal output even after a large number of compression cycles and efficiently detect human body activities in real time. With its potential applications in future flexible wearable electronic devices, the sensor is expected to have significant impact in the field.