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Molten-Salt Synthesis of Complex Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
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One-Pot Green Process to Synthesize MXene with Controllable Surface Terminations using Molten Salts
Miao Shen1, Weiyan Jiang1, Kun Liang2
1Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|October 9, 2021
Summary
A novel molten-salt electrochemical method synthesizes fluorine-free titanium carbide (Ti3 C2 Cl2) MXenes. This fluorine-free MXene, with tunable surface terminations, shows superior performance as a supercapacitor electrode material.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Surface terminations of two-dimensional MXene (Ti3 C2 Tx) significantly influence its properties.
- Conventional etching methods often introduce undesirable fluorine terminations or metallic impurities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a new fluorine-free synthesis route for Ti3 C2 Tx MXene.
- To explore in situ surface termination modification for enhanced electrochemical applications.
Main Methods:
- Molten-salt-assisted electrochemical etching was employed to synthesize Ti3 C2 Cl2.
- Electrons were used as reaction agents, spatially isolating reduction and etching processes.
- In situ modification of surface terminations from -Cl to -O and/or -S was achieved.
Main Results:
- Fluorine-free Ti3 C2 Cl2 was successfully synthesized without metallic impurities.
- Tunable surface terminations (-O, -S) were achieved through in situ modification.
- -O-terminated Ti3 C2 Tx demonstrated excellent supercapacitor performance: 225 F g-1 at 1.0 A g-1, 91.1% rate capability at 10 A g-1, and 100% capacitance retention over 10,000 cycles.
Conclusions:
- The molten-salt-assisted electrochemical etching method offers a superior alternative for producing high-performance MXene materials.
- The synthesized fluorine-free MXenes with tailored surface terminations are promising for advanced energy storage applications, particularly supercapacitors.
