Bioinspired supramolecular thermistor for resolving subtle temperature variations

Precise detection of subtle temperature variations under cryogenic conditions is critical for environmental monitoring but remains challenging because conventional thermistors suffer from limited sensitivity and mechanical interference. Here, we report a bioinspired supramolecular thermistor that achieves thermal transduction through molecularly gated charge transport. The hybrid polyurethane/carboxymethyl cellulose (PU/CMC)/MXene/NiO composite integrates dynamic hydrogen-bond reconfiguration, hydrated ionic conduction, and temperature-dependent electronic transport. Upon cooling, cooperative supramolecular evolution continuously modulates coupled ionic and electronic pathways, producing an ultrahigh negative temperature coefficient of −22,280% °C −1 between −80° and −75°C. The thermistor resolves detectable temperature changes below 0.01°C while maintaining negligible hysteresis, excellent reproducibility, and effective thermal-mechanical decoupling. Combined with a dedicated low-noise readout circuit, it enables reliable monitoring of subtle temperature evolution during simulated atmospheric cooling. Integrated into a multichannel sensor array, it further provides force-independent thermal mapping for robotic manipulation. This work establishes molecularly gated supramolecular thermal transduction as a strategy for ultrahigh-resolution cryogenic temperature sensing.