Engineering 3D-Architected Gyroid MXene Scaffolds for Ultrasensitive Micromechanical Sensing

A novel piezoresistive sensor based on ultralight 3D MXene scaffold (3DMS) is developed by a facile and architecturally versatile method using additively manufactured, polymer-based gyroidal triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) as the initial sacrificial scaffold. A neat MXene scaffold with the gyroidal TPMS structure is prepared by dip coating MXene sheets onto 3D-printed polymeric Gyroid lattices, followed by thermal treatment. 3DMS exhibits a high compressive strength of 27.18 kPa and a thermal conductivity of 0.3454 W m(-1) K-1. The thermal conductivity of the MXene layer in the 3D structure can reach up to 23.88 Wm(-1) K-1, which demonstrates that 3DMS has high versatility for all-in-one applications, such as thermal insulation, sensors, and energy storage. The 3DMS developed herein combines the high electrical conductivity of MXene (Ti3C2Tx), intricacy of the gyroidal structure, as well as high porosity, offering a promising platform for high-performance sensors. In addition, the piezoresistive sensor shows extremely high sensitivity (134.48 kPa(-1)), good response time (477 ms) and recovery time (402 ms), and improvable durability, validating its potentials for measuring pressure distribution in various engineering devices.