Patterned MXene-enabled switchable health monitoring and electromagnetic protection for architecture

Health monitoring of architectures and customization of electromagnetic (EM) radiation-free spaces are crucial for the transformation of future high-quality life, especially special life environments. Herein, a health monitored strain array and EM protective coating are obtained by tailoring the MXene composites, where electron transport plays an irreplaceable role in functional regulation. The EM response signal of the periodic patterned MXene is sensitive to the structural deformation of the array, and its sensitivity reaches 96 MHz/%. When the Ti₃C₂T_x composite serves as an EM coating, the shielding effect of the customized room is ∼99.8%. The EM performance of the Ti₃C₂T_x composite can be switched between absorbing and shielding by tuning its electrical conductivity. The optimal EM absorption performance is up to −54.8 dB with the bandwidth over 3.02 GHz, and the average interference shielding performance surpass 30 dB with the contribution of absorption of 26.44 dB due to the high loss factor. This result provides a reference for the application of EM functional materials in the field of building, especially for the design of high-standard buildings such as hospitals, military bases, and kindergartens.