The potential of titanium carbide MXene (Ti₃C₂Tₓ) for piezoresistive and chemoresistive sensing applications is widely acknowledged due to its metallic conductivity, large specific surface area (SSA), and numerous surface terminal groups. However, several challenges, including its brittleness, lack of configurational orientation, as well as microstructure- and surface-depended behavior, hinder its practical use. This research is motivated to enhance Ti₃C₂Tₓ-based sensors at multiple length scales, addressing materials designs, microstructuring and fabrication issues. In the nanoscale domain, the focus is on adjusting the surface chemistry and electronic properties of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene particles to rectify issues such as limited selectivity, unbalanced surface terminations, weak signal strength, and susceptibility to ambient moisture. The objectives include increasing the population of reactive hydroxyl and epoxy groups on Ti₃C₂Tₓ surfaces to improve selectivity, forming robust interfaces with substrates, and minimizing moisture interaction. The target is also to balance electron mobility and density, thereby enhancing signal strength and reducing noise.

In the microscale domain, the goals are fabrication-oriented, focusing on the morphology and configuration of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene-based structures. It is intended to create porous structures with a high surface-to-volume ratio, facilitating increased exposure of Ti₃C₂Tₓ flakes and enhancing flexibility. The aim to develop 3-D electrically conductive and mechanically robust networks to maintain both high conductivity and mechanical integrity. Such strategies will address issues such as poor surface exposure of Ti₃C₂Tₓ flakes, limited piezoresistive working range, and lack of stretchability. To overcome the brittleness and geometric limitations, techniques will be designed to uniformly structure Ti₃C₂Tₓ onto flexible platforms, thereby achieving highly stretchable, flexible polymer-based fibrous networks. The goal is to enhance interfacial integrity and mechanical robustness while maintaining flexibility. Ultimately, this research aims to meet the performance requirements for Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene-based piezoresistive and chemoresistive sensors. For piezoresistivity, the aim to achieve linearly increasing gauge factor values over a wide strain range, with a rapid response time and long-term dynamic stability. In the case of chemoresistive sensing, it is sought to create sensors that respond effectively to a wide range of analyte concentrations, with high recoverability and selectivity toward common analytes like ammonia, acetone, and ethanol.