Exploring the Influence of Critical Parameters for the Effective Synthesis of High-Quality 2D MXene

Recently, a new class of two-dimensional (2D) materials, called MXene, consisting of layers of transition-metal carbides and nitrides/carbonitrides has been introduced. MXene, a multifunctional material with hydrophilic nature and excellent electrical conductivity and chemical stabilities, can be applied in diverse research areas such as energy harvesting and its storage, water purification, thermal dissipation, and gas sensing. To achieve the best quality of MXene, optimization of some important synthetic parameters is highly required such as an optimized etchant concentration to remove an "A" element from the MAX phase and sonication time for the efficient exfoliation of MXene flakes. Besides, there is a need to disclose that particular solvent through which intercalation can easily be achieved. In this work, we optimized the abovementioned critical parameters for the synthesis of good-quality MXene. Our results clearly explain the variations in the quality of MXene under applied etchant concentrations, solvents for better intercalation, and optimization of sonication time for better exfoliation. The obtained results suggest that 30% HF as an etchant, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent, and 135 min as the sonication time are effective parameters for the synthesis of good-quality MXene. We expect that this report will be helpful for the young research community to synthesize good-quality MXene with the required properties.