Durable, breathable, sweat-resistant, and degradable flexible sensors for human motion detection

•A hydrophobic and breathable paper/MXene/sizing agent (PMS) flexible strain sensor is reported by facile successive dip coating methods.•This PMS sensing film demonstrated high sensitivity (gauge factor, GF = 161) in the bending angle of 0-120°, excellent durability of 100,000 cycles in bending deformation of 30°, superior hydrophobicity (contact angle, CA = 133.4°), good air permeability (154.08 mm/s), and high degradability.•For the proof of concept, human movement detection and wearable Morse code wireless transmission systems under water conditions are demonstrated.