Electrospun bifunctional MXene-based electronic skins with high performance electromagnetic shielding and pressure sensing

With the rapid development of intelligent wearable electronics, flexible shielding electronic skin is highly desired to monitor physiological signals and protect human beings from electromagnetic radiation. One primary concern is the synergetic improvement of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness and piezoresistive sensitivity that meet the demands above. Here, we report a bifunctional electrospun nanofiber membrane decorated with MXene nanosheets and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) that possess desired properties. Notably, this electrospun composite membrane (thicknesses of 33 μm) demonstrates excellent specific shielding effectiveness (SSE/t) of 9212.1 dB cm2 g−1 in a broad waveband range (8–26.5 GHz), owing to the combined effects of favorable porous structure, magnetic loss from Fe3O4 NPs and dielectric loss from MXene. The bifunctional membrane exhibited high sensitivity of 5.53 kPa−1 in a broad pressure regime (0–2.5 kPa), with a rapid response time and long-term stability. This pressure sensor can achieve noninvasive health monitoring of pulse, laryngeal movement, and other physiological signals. This work provides a new avenue toward wearable electromagnetic wave protection and human-machine interfaces. [Display omitted] •A flexible electrospun MXene-Fe3O4 nanofiber membrane with a 0D-1D-2D structure.•The bifunctional membrane is developed for EMI shielding and pressure sensor.•It displays excellent EMI SSE/t value of 9212.1 dB cm2 g−1 in wide waveband range.•The pressure sensor shows high sensitivity (5.53 kPa−1), fast response time (62.2 ms).•The sensor achieves noninvasive health monitoring of physiological signals.