Plasmonic Ti₃C₂T_x MXene Enables Highly Efficient Photothermal Conversion for Healable and Transparent Wearable Device

Skin-mountable and transparent devices are highly desired for next-generation electronic applications but are susceptible to unexpected ruptures or undesired scratches, which can drastically reduce the device lifetime. Developing wearable and transparent materials with healable function that can recover their original functionality after mechanical damage under mild and noninvasive repairing operation is thus imperative. Herein, we demonstrate that the incorporation of ultrasmall quantities of plasmonic silver nanoparticle (AgNP)@MXene nanosheet hybrids to serve as photothermal fillers in waterborne elastic polyurethane enables high transparency as well as effective light-triggered healing capabilities for wearable composite coatings. The AgNP@MXene hybrid functions as a highly effective photon captor, energy transformer, and molecular heater due to the amalgamation of (1) ultrahigh photothermal conversion efficiency, high thermal conductivity, and structural properties of MXene, (2) the outstanding plasmonic effect of AgNPs, and (3) the synergistic effects from their hybrids. The resulting wearable composite coating with ultralow loading of plasmonic AgNP@MXene hybrids (0.08 wt % or 0.024 vol %) can produce a significant temperature increase of ∼111 ± 2.6 °C after the application of 600 mW cm–2 light irradiation for 5 min, while maintaining a high optical transmittance of ∼83% at a thickness of ∼60 μm. This local temperature increase can rapidly heal the mechanical damage to the composite coating, with a healing efficiency above 97%.