Antioxidant MXene-based flame retardant cotton fabrics for sensing and personal thermal management

Enhanced MXene performance via in-situ Ag intercalation and PST passivation • Multifunctional cotton fabric is prepared by an interfacial integration strategy. • The fabric exhibits flame retardancy, sensing, and thermal management capability. Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene-based textiles are gaining rapid attention for next-generation wearable technologies. However, drawbacks of MXene, such as susceptibility to oxidative degradation, poor adhesion to fabrics, and low flame-retardant efficiency, hinder its applications. Herein, we proposed a collaborative interfacial strategy to fabricate a durable, antioxidant Mxene-based cotton fabric (C-E-FR-cotton) that exhibited flame retardancy, sensing, and thermal management. MXene was surface-modified with Ag NPs and potassium sodium tartrate, and then firmly adhered to the fabric by covalent bonds. Flammability test results demonstrated that the C-E-FR-cotton fabric had excellent flame retardancy, with a limiting oxygen index value (LOI) of 36.8% and a reduction of 42.8% in total heat release. The fabric retained its electrical stability, exhibiting only 1.2 times its original resistance value even after 20 soaking cycles. Besides, the signal output of the fabric remained stable during 4000 s of compression-release cycles testing, demonstrating durable sensing capability. Furthermore, the C-E-FR-cotton achieved thermal regulation, including electrothermal heating (76 °C at 10 V), photothermal warming (53.5 °C under 1000 W·m −2 ), and radiative insulation equivalent to four cotton layers. This work presents a practical strategy to develop MXene-based textiles with enhanced antioxidant capacity, flame retardancy, and capabilities for sensing and personal thermal management.