Conformal, transparent, and efficient MXene grid antennas for flexible wireless electronics.

Su, Hengpei; Xiao, Qiang; Jia, Rui; Xia, Zhihua; Wang, Jingyu; Xu, Tianyue; Zhao, Chendong; Li, Chunjie et al. · Sci Adv · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Next-generation internet of things (IoT) wireless electronics require antennas that are conformal, transparent, and electromagnetically efficient, yet these attributes form an impossible trinity. Here, we realize the first Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<i><sub>x</sub></i> MXene-based conformal, transparent, and high-performance antenna through an optimized nanoimprint lithography-blading technique. Nanoimprinted MXene grid transparent conductive film (TCF) achieves an exceptional balance of low sheet resistance (4.32 ohms per square) at high transmittance (~89.1%) with promising flexibility. Two representative scenarios in IoT networks are selected to demonstrate the versatility of this TCF. For personal devices, the efficient MXene transparent dipole antenna enables a quasi-transparent wireless wearable device for long-distance and real-time communication (>30 meters). For fixed infrastructure, MXene-based digital coding metasurface enables high-quality wireless communication, maintaining a low bit error rate (~0.15%) even in a curved state. This work establishes MXene as a versatile platform that successfully merges conformal transparency and high electromagnetic performance, paving the way for next-generation imperceptible IoT wireless systems.