The Role of MXene Surface Terminations on Peptide Transportation in Nanopore Sensing

Nanopores with two-dimensional materials have various advantages in sensing, but the fast translocation of molecules hinders their scale-up applications. In this work, we investigate the influence of -F, -O, and -OH surface terminations on the translocation of peptides through MXene nanopores. We find that the longest dwell time always occurs when peptides pass through the Ti₃C₂O₂ nanopores. This elongated dwell time is induced by the strongest interaction between peptides and the Ti₃C₂O₂ membrane, in which the van der Waals interactions dominate. Compared to the other two MXene nanopores, the braking effect is indicated during the whole translocation process, which evidence the advantage of Ti₃C₂O₂ in nanopore sensing. Our work demonstrates that membrane surface chemistry has a great influence on the translocation of peptides, which can be introduced in the design of nanopores for a better performance.