Engineering 3D-Architected Gyroid MXene Scaffolds for Ultrasensitive Micromechanical Sensing

A novel piezoresistive sensor based on ultralight 3D MXene scaffold (3DMS) is developed by a facile and architecturally versatile method using additively manufactured, polymer-based gyroidal triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) as the initial sacrificial scaffold. A neat MXene scaffold with the gyroidal TPMS structure is prepared by dip coating MXene sheets onto 3D-printed polymeric Gyroid lattices, followed by thermal treatment. 3DMS exhibits a high compressive strength of 27.18 kPa and a thermal conductivity of 0.3454 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. The thermal conductivity of the MXene layer in the 3D structure can reach up to 23.88 Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹, which demonstrates that 3DMS has high versatility for all-in-one applications, such as thermal insulation, sensors, and energy storage. The 3DMS developed herein combines the high electrical conductivity of MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x), intricacy of the gyroidal structure, as well as high porosity, offering a promising platform for high-performance sensors. In addition, the piezoresistive sensor shows extremely high sensitivity (134.48 kPa⁻¹), good response time (477 ms) and recovery time (402 ms), and improvable durability, validating its potentials for measuring pressure distribution in various engineering devices.