Hierarchical design of waterproof, highly sensitive, and wearable sensing electronics based on MXene-reinforced durable cotton fabrics

[Display omitted] •A waterproof, highly sensitive, and multi-mode sensor was successfully prepared.•The sensor was constructed by 2D MXene nanosheets and 0D silicon nanoparticles.•The multifunctional sensor exhibited excellent sensing and broad sensing ranges.•The dual layers endowed the sensor with waterproof and antifouling performance. Superhydrophobic wearable textile electronics are of great promising devices due to their broad application in healthcare monitoring and artificial intelligence, etc. MXenes, the emerging two‐dimensional (2D) carbides and carbonitrides, are ideal candidates for fabricating wearable electronic devices. However, in an effort to maintain its highly conductive and long-term stability of cotton fabrics under harsh condition, it is an imperative demand to prepare superhydrophobic MXenes-textile sensor. Herein, a waterproof, highly sensitive, and wearable multi-mode sensor was successfully fabricated by the construction of 2D MXene nanosheets and zero-dimension (0D) silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) onto a cotton fibers substrate (MX@SiNPs cotton). The as-cultivated MX@SiNPs cotton exhibited an integration of high-performance sensing toward pression, bending, and torsion, superior sensitivity (S1 = 12.23 kPa−1), a stable response under press-relaxing cycles, and broad sensing ranges (pressure: 8.8 Pa – 70 kPa, bending: 0 – 180°, torsion: 0 – 628 rad m−1). By virtue of its hierarchical structure and low surface energy of the SiNPs layer, the MXenes-textile sensor can maintain intrinsic conductivity under wet and corrosive conditions. The waterproof and highly sensitive MXene-reinforced cotton fabrics lay a basis for the broad-range application and large-scale preparation of the sensor and prolong its service life.