Principle and Structural Design of MXene-Based Sensors Toward Smart Life

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides, known as MXenes, have been widely studied at the frontier of 2D materials. The excellent mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, excellent photoelectrical performance, and good thermal stability of MXenes enable wide applications in many fields, including but not limited to energy storage, supercapacitors, EMI shielding, catalysis, optoelectronics, and sensors. In particular, MXene-based materials exhibit exceptional sensing performance due to their unique tunable surface chemistry, 2D architecture, and exotic electrical/mechanical/electromechanical properties, which are rarely found in other materials. This paper discusses the MXene sensing properties and their mechanisms in different types of sensors, including piezoresistive sensors, flexible sensors, gas sensors, and biosensors. The unique roles of these MXene-based sensors toward the future of smart living are also outlined. This article may shed light on the rational design of MXene-based sensors and provide valuable references for corresponding scenario applications.