Highly customizable, ultrawide-temperature free-form flexible sensing electronic systems based on medium-entropy alloy paintings

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 7351 - 14
• Main Authors: Li, Weiwei, Li, Yingzhe, Xu, Manzhang, Zhou, Yilin, Miao, Ruoyan, Wang, Kexin, Cao, Yunqiang, Song, Yizhong, Dang, Siying, Zheng, Lu, Wang, Xuewen, Huang, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.08.2025; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/166/987; 639/301/1005/1009; Aircraft; Annealing; Cellulose; Corrosion; Electrical properties; Electronic systems; Entropy; Environmental conditions; Extreme environments; Fabrication; Flexible components; Free form; Harsh environments; Humanities and Social Sciences; Industrial applications; Interfaces; Medium entropy alloys; Monitoring; Morphing aircraft; multidisciplinary; Oxidation; Paints; Polymers; Real time; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensitivity; Sensors; Strain gauges; Stress concentration; Temperature; Thermal stability; Viscosity
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62100-6

High-performance flexible sensing electronics on complex surfaces operating across broad temperatures are critical for aerospace and industrial applications. However, existing flexible sensors and materials face limitations in sensitivity and thermal stability. Here, we report an ink-engineering strategy to directly print single-face MoWNb medium entropy alloy paints on arbitrary surfaces without complicated post-processing. These sensors exhibit exceptional strain sensitivity (gauge factor up to −752.7 at 300 °C), a low detection limit (0.57 με), and superior thermal stability from −150 to 1100 °C. Through a cyclic dispersing/re-printing process, the fully recyclable sensors retain electrical properties and sensing performance. Furthermore, by integrating with a long-range radio module, we demonstrate a wireless sensing system for in-situ and real-time monitoring of a morphing aircraft under various extreme environments. Our findings provide a convenient and efficient approach for the direct fabrication of flexible sensors and the seamless integration into sensing systems that work reliably in harsh environmental conditions. Heating-resistive flexible electronics is promising, yet challenging. Here, the authors report a direct printing and writing strategy for refractory entropy-alloy-based flexible sensors with sensitivity over a broad temperature range, enabling real-time monitoring of morphing aircrafts in harsh environments.