MXene Nanosheets Assembled onto Cationic-Modified Cotton for Smart Multiprotection Textiles

Abstract

Functional textiles decorated with two-dimensional transition metal carbon/nitride (MXene) have been widely studied in many fields due to their favorable conductivity and easy scalability. However, the susceptibility to oxidation and poor bonding fastness limit their wide applications in the field of wearable textiles. Herein, cationization modification of cotton textile was performed by using a branched compound of polyethylenimine (PEI), followed by efficient electrostatic assembly of MXene nanosheets onto the modified fiber surfaces, aiming at fabricating durable wearable textiles with multiprotection functions. Under the assistance of PEI molecules, MXene was uniformly deposited on the surface of cationic cotton fabric to form a stable and orderly nanosheet coating, realizing the efficient utilization of electroactive media. The assembled textile exhibits good conductivity (130.6 S/m), high solar spectral absorptivity (89%), and low mid-infrared emissivity (0.245), which allows for a flexible conversion system of Joule heating, solar heating, and low radiation heating to meet personal warming needs. In addition, the MXene-assembled textile offers excellent electromagnetic interface shielding (28 dB) and infrared thermal camouflage while retaining good breathability and moisture permeability. This simple strategy, based on the PEI-mediated assembly of MXene, provides an alternative for facilitating smart textiles with multiprotective function.