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Page 4 of 57 Zheng et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 32

their abundance of hydrophilic surface functional groups, which allow stable dispersion systems without
further reduction treatment . Ghidiu et al. successfully prepared clay-like Ti C T materials and laid the
[23]
3
2 x
groundwork for the large-scale production of MXenes in 2014 by developing a safe etching protocol based on
an HCl/LiF mixed solution to address the environmental and safety risks associated with hydrofluoric acid
etching . MXene encounters difficulties during the macroscopic fiber manufacturing process, including
[24]
brittleness and poor mechanical characteristics because of weak interlayer contacts [25-29] . Composite spinning
techniques were the main method used in early research to overcome these problems. Research on MXene
fibers began in 2017 when Yang et al. invented the wet spinning of MXene/GO composite fibers . CNTs [31]
[30]
and conductive polymers were subsequently added to composite systems. Up until 2020, it was possible to
[32]
directly prepare highly orientated pure MXene fibers via wet spinning and achieve a breakthrough
conductivity of 7,748 S·cm thanks to the discovery of MXene’s liquid crystal-like behavior, which is
-1
comparable to that of GO . Tensile strength and electrical conductivity have since reached maximum values
[33]
of 585.5 MPa and 12,503 S·cm , respectively, thanks to improvements made to the coagulation bath’s
-1
composition , tensile orientation, and post-processing methods like thermal stretching . MXene
[34]
[26]
composite fibers with ultra-high strength (> 1 GPa), high toughness, exceptional ductility, and high electrical
conductivity were recently created by Gu et al. by building a synergistic system of “strong interface-slip
interface-microporous structure” . This innovation provides fresh insights into the structural design and
[35]
performance synergy of MXene fibers by overcoming the brittleness constraints of conventional
densification reinforcement.

After carbon fiber, graphene and MXene-based conductive fibers have emerged as a new generation of fiber
materials that integrate form and function due to their exceptional electrical properties, customizable
mechanical features, and high flexibility to textile production. This idea is taken a step further in Figure 1B,
which shows how graphene and MXene-based conductive fibers can be integrated, knitted, or woven into
wearable platforms to accomplish heat control, energy storage, and sensing. They offer a strong basis for
performance advancements and versatile integration in smart textiles. Because of their special combination
of features, graphene and MXene-based fibers have wide application potential in smart textiles, building on
the successful development of high-performance fibers. Through the synergistic design of their composition
and structure, these fibers achieve functional diversification in addition to their exceptional mechanical
strength and conductivity. MXene/graphene composite electrode materials show extraordinary mechanical
durability in the realm of flexible energy storage; built flexible supercapacitors retain remarkably high
capacitance even after tens of thousands of bending cycles . MXene/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid
[36]
optical fiber sensors display exceptional stability under multiple bending cycles and greatly increase response
sensitivity to gases such as NH at ambient temperature by utilizing interfacial synergistic effects .
[37]
3
Additionally, MXene/rGO fabrics made by wet spinning demonstrated potential for use in complex
environments by achieving high-bandwidth efficient electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss
< -58 dB) while maintaining high mechanical strength (> 500 MPa) . Through multidimensional structural
[38]
regulation and functional integration, graphene and MXene-based soft conductive fibers have gradually
emerged as a critical material platform propelling the development of smart textiles toward high
performance and multifunctionality, as these research findings unequivocally show.

Even though research on graphene and MXene-based soft conductive fibers has advanced significantly, and
their potential for multifunctional integration in smart textiles is still being explored, there are still many
obstacles to overcome in order to scale up production and practical applications. At the material level,
MXene’s extreme sensitivity to oxygen and humidity in the atmosphere makes it vulnerable to oxidative
deterioration, which seriously impairs its structural integrity and conductivity. Although aging can be
postponed by surface encapsulation or storage in organic solvents, long-term stability mechanisms are still
unclear. At the manufacturing level, problems including fiber breakage, fusion, and structural regularity