Two-Dimensional Titanium Nitride (Ti₂N) MXene: Synthesis, Characterization, and Potential Application as...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Synthesis of nitride-based MXenes (M_n+1N_n) is challenging due to high formation energies and instability in typical etchants like HF.
• Titanium nitride (Ti₂N) is an M₂X type two-dimensional transition metal nitride with potential applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a reliable synthesis method for Ti₂N (MXene).
• To characterize the synthesized Ti₂N (MXene) material.
• To investigate the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) capabilities of Ti₂N (MXene) for sensing applications.

Main Methods:

• Selective etching of Al from Ti₂AlN (MAX) using KF and HCl.
• Intercalation and exfoliation using sonication in DMSO.
• Characterization via Raman spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, FESEM-EDS, TEM, STM, and AFM.
• Fabrication of paper, silicon, and glass-based SERS substrates.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized few-layered Ti₂N (MXene) with verified structure and composition.
• Achieved a high Raman enhancement factor of 10¹² using rhodamine 6G.
• Demonstrated trace-level explosive detection using a paper-based SERS substrate with Ti₂N (MXene).

Conclusions:

• A robust method for Ti₂N (MXene) synthesis was established, overcoming previous limitations.
• The synthesized Ti₂N (MXene) exhibits excellent SERS performance.
• Ti₂N (MXene) holds significant promise for developing sensitive and portable explosive detection systems.