Electrically Conductive 2D Material Coatings for Flexible & Stretchable Electronics: A Comparative Review of Graphenes & MXenes

TL;DR

This review compares graphene and MXene coatings for flexible electronics, highlighting recent progress, shared properties, and future potential in wearable, healthcare, and IoT applications based on analysis of over 200 studies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive quantitative analysis of recent developments in 2D material coatings for flexible electronics, emphasizing their shared properties and future prospects.

Findings

Graphenes and MXenes have high electrical conductivity and 2D morphology.

Both materials enable diverse electronic devices like sensors and supercapacitors.

Significant research progress over the last 6 years with many applications in wearable tech.

Abstract

There is growing interest in transitioning electronic components and circuitry from stiff and rigid substrates to more flexible and stretchable platforms, such as thin plastics, textiles, and foams. In parallel, the push for more sustainable, biocompatible, and cost-efficient conductive inks to coat these substrates, has led to the development of formulations with novel nanomaterials. Among these, 2D materials, and particularly graphenes and MXenes, have received intense research interest due to their increasingly facile and scalable production, high electrical conductivity, and compatibility with existing manufacturing techniques. They enable a range of electronic devices, including strain and pressure sensors, supercapacitors, thermoelectric generators, and heaters. These new flexible and stretchable electronic devices developed with 2D material coatings are poised to unlock exciting applications in the wearable, healthcare and Internet of Things sectors. This review has surveyed key data from more than 200 articles published over the last 6 years, to provide a quantitative analysis of recent progress in the field and shade light on future directions and prospects of this technology. We find that despite the different chemical origins of graphenes and MXenes, their shared electrical properties and 2D morphology, guarantee intriguing performance in end applications, leaving plenty of space for shared progress and advancements in the future.