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Highly Efficiently Delaminated Single-Layered MXene Nanosheets with Large Lateral Size
Gengnan Li1, Li Tan1, Yumeng Zhang1
1Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology , Shanghai 200237, China.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|August 15, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed single-layered titanium carbide (Ti3C2(OH)2) nanosheets using a simple etching method. These versatile 2D materials exhibit easy delamination and restacking, ideal for advanced functional materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemistry
Background:
- Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer unique properties for advanced applications.
- MXenes, a class of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, have garnered significant attention.
- Developing scalable and efficient synthesis methods for high-quality MXene nanosheets is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate single-layered Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets from a Ti3AlC2 precursor.
- To investigate the delamination, restacking, and properties of the synthesized nanosheets.
- To evaluate the potential of Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets as building blocks for functional materials.
Main Methods:
- Etching of Ti3AlC2 precursor using potassium hydroxide (KOH) and water.
- Washing and delamination processes to obtain single-layered nanosheets.
- Atomic force microscopy (AFM) for characterization of nanosheet size and morphology.
- Restacking and re-delamination experiments in aqueous solutions.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized single-layered Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets with lateral sizes up to several micrometers.
- Demonstrated facile delamination of the Ti3AlC2 precursor and efficient exfoliation into single layers.
- Observed reversible restacking and re-delamination behavior of the Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets.
- Confirmed intrinsic metallic conductivity and hydrophilicity of the 2D Ti3C2(OH)2 materials.
Conclusions:
- Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets can be efficiently fabricated via a simple KOH etching method.
- The synthesized nanosheets exhibit remarkable delamination, restacking, and re-delamination properties.
- These properties, along with metallic conductivity and hydrophilicity, position Ti3C2(OH)2 nanosheets as promising 2D building blocks for diverse functional materials.
