Polyimide nanofiber /MXene composite aerogel, pressure sensing, oil and water separation both!

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, high performance pressure sensors are widely used in artificial prostheses, intelligent robots, electronic skin and wearable electronics. Pressure sensors based on traditional metal and inorganic semiconductor materials have high sensitivity, fast response and good stability, but the sensing range is limited, the flexibility is poor, and the preparation is complicated, and the cost is high.
The piezoresistive pressure sensor based on conductive polymer composites (CPC) has the advantages of simple structure, good flexibility and easy signal collection. When external pressure is applied, the conductive network within the conductive polymer composite is immediately rearranged, resulting in a change in resistance. Conductive polymer composites with typical three-dimensional structure are considered ideal for piezoresistive sensors because of their low density, high porosity and good elasticity.
A conducting polyimide nanofiber (PINF)/MXene composite aerogel with typical "layer-strut" multistage nanofiber structure has been developed by a team from Zhengzhou University in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Systems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, through a freeze-drying and thermal imination process. Thanks to the porous structure and strong bonding between PINF and MXene, the composite aerogel has a density as low as 9.98 mg□cm-3, can withstand harsh temperatures ranging from -50 ℃ to 250℃, strain up to 90%, and fatigue resistance for more than 1000 cycles. When used as a piezoresisor sensor, the sensing capacity is up to 85.21 kPa (corresponding to 90% strain), showing an ultra-low detection limit of 0.01 kPa (corresponding to 0.5% strain), over 1000 cycles of fatigue resistance and excellent stability and reproducibility in extreme environments. In addition, the hydrophobicity and multistage pore structure of the composite aerogels also have good oil-water separation performance, adsorption capacity of 55.85 ~ 135.29 g□g-1, can be recycled. The research is expected to provide a new multifunctional platform for human motion/physical signal detection and efficient oil/water separation, And by "Lightweight, Superelastic, and Hydrophobic Polyimide Nanofiber/MXene Composite Aerogel for Wearable Piezoresistive Sensor and Oil/Water Separation  "Applications" is published in the latest issue of Advanced Functional Materials.

Preparation of PINF/MXene composite aerogel




Morphology and structure of PINF/MXene composite aerogel



Mechanical and electrical properties of PINF/MXene aerogel composite






Pressure sensing characteristics of PINF/MXene composite aerogel and its real-time detection function



Oil and water separation function of PINF/MXene composite aerogel

Article Title: Lightweight, Superelastic,  and Hydrophobic Polyimide Nanofiber /MXene Composite Aerogel for Wearable Piezoresistive Sensor and Oil/Water Separation  Applications
Full text links: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202008006

(Source: Official micro of Textile Herald)