Nanoscale Interlayer Engineering Enhances MXene-Based Flexible Pressure Sensor

MXene, an emerging two-dimensional nanomaterial, has attracted considerable interest due to its large surface area, excellent mechanical strength, and superior electrical and chemical properties, making it a strong candidate for high-performance pressure sensors. However, its inherent tendency to self-stack limits the tunability of its interlayer structure, which is critical for resistance-based sensing mechanisms. In this work, we successfully achieved continuous tuning of MXene's interlayer spacing, effectively enhancing the sensitivity and overall performance of the pressure sensor. The optimized sensor exhibited outstanding linear sensitivities of 145.5 kPa^-1 in the low-pressure range (0-18 kPa) and 25.7 kPa^-1 in the medium range (18-50 kPa), along with fast response and recovery times of 68 and 40 ms. Furthermore, it demonstrated excellent durability with stable performance over 10,000 loading/unloading cycles. The sensor was further applied to real-time monitoring of human motions, health signals, and human-machine interactions, highlighting its strong potential in next-generation wearable electronics and smart sensing applications.