Polymer‐Regulating MXene@Dopamine Electroactive Gel‐Inks for Textile‐Based Multi‐Protective Wearables

Abstract

Abstract2D transition metal carbide/nitride (MXene) show significant potential for fabricating flexible wearables due to its outstanding electroactive characteristic. However, the complex processes in rheology regulation and easy agglomeration of MXene nanosheets hinder their applications as inks for homogeneous printing and coating. Herein, an electroactive gel‐ink with a low concentration of MXene (20 mg mL−1) using poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a dopant and conductive binder is developed. The dopamine‐involved modification and PEDOT:PSS doping together promote the formation of ordered lamellar structure of MXene nanosheets, and in turn the nanosheets can regulate the interconnected electronic structure of PEDOT:PSS, which enables the transition from micellar to linear structures. Through adjusting the combination ratio of dopamine‐modified MXene (MD) to PEDOT:PSS, the viscosity of MXene inks (MDP) is tunable within 1–104 Pa·s to realize scalable printing and other processing. Screen‐printing with MDP gel‐ink endows textiles with excellent conductive stability while retaining the inherent wearability of the original fabric. With high conductivity (109.6 S m−1) and low mid‐infrared emissivity (0.34), the decorated textiles exhibit remarkable multi‐protective abilities. This work provides a novel strategy for formulating versatile MXene inks that will facilitate the large‐scale fabrication of high‐performance personal wearable multi‐protective textiles.