Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were chemically modified to achieve strong binding strength with the attached functional components as well as good dispersability and nanoparticle sizeuniformity. An efficient multi-oxidation process was developed to create porous out layer with many nanoscale defects on the surface of CNTs for metallic nanoparticle close attachment and bond sufficient oxygen-containing groups, which assisted the dispersion of CNTs in the aqueous solution. The surface modified CNTs have advantages of strong binding capability, large surface area, high mechanical strength and good dispersability, which show great potential as building blocks for hybrid nanomaterials. Monodispersed silver nanoparticles with an average size of 3 nm were formed from inside the created nanoscale defects on the surface of CNTs without any obvious agglomerations. The fabricated hybrid exhibited much enhanced anti-bacterial performance compared to commercial silver nanoparticles due to the combined anti-bacterial effects of CNTs and silver nanoparticles. With these superior properties, the developed surface modification process could be widely

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Flexible mechanical sensors based on nanomaterials operate on a deformation-response mechanism, making it challenging to discern different types of mechanical stimuli such as pressure and strain. Therefore, these sensors are susceptible to significant mechanical interference. Here, we introduce a multifunctional flexible sensor capable of discriminating coupled pressure and strain without cross-interference. Our design involves an elastic cantilever fixed on the pillar of the flexible main substrate, creating a three-dimensional (3D) substrate, and two percolative nanoparticle (NP) arrays are deposited on the cantilever and main substrate, respectively, as the sensing materials. The 3D flexible substrate could confine pressure/strain loading exclusively on the cantilever or main substrate, resulting in independent responses of the two nanoparticle arrays with no cross-interference. Benefitting from the quantum transport in nanoparticle arrays, our sensors demonstrate an exceptional sensitivity, enabling discrimination of subtle strains down to 1.34 × 10−4. Furthermore, the suspended cantilever with one movable end can enhance the pressure perception of the NP array, exhibiting a high sensitivity of −0.223 kPa−1 and an ultrahigh resolution of 4.24 Pa. This flexible sensor with multifunctional design will provide inspiration for the development of flexible mechanical sensors and the advancement of decoupling strategies.