MXenes are prone to oxidize and degrade quickly in a matter of days. Here, the use of antioxidants, such as sodium L-ascorbate, is demonstrated as an effective approach to arrest the oxidation of colloidal and dehydrated Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanosheets. The success of the method is evident as the Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets maintain their composition, morphology, electrical conductivity, and colloidal stability. This method addresses the most pressing challenge in the field of MXene engineering.

Ti 3 C 2 T x belongs to the family of MXenes, 2D materials with an attractive combination of functional properties suitable for applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, and strain sensors. However, the fabrication of devices and functional coatings based on Ti 3 C 2 T x remains challenging as they are prone to chemical degradation by their oxidation to TiO 2. In this paper, we examine the oxidation of Ti 3 C 2 T x in air, liquid, and solid media via conductivity measurements to assess the shelf life of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXenes. The oxidation of Ti 3 C 2 T x was observed in all the media used in this study, but it is fastest in liquid media and slowest in solid media (including polymer matrices). We also show that the conventional indicators of MXene oxidation, such as changes in color and colloidal stability, are not always reliable. Finally, we demonstrate the acceleration of oxidation under exposure to UV light.

In this study, we successfully demonstrate the electrochemical etching of Al from porous Ti2AlC electrodes in dilute hydrochloric acid to form a layer of Ti2CTx MXene on Ti2AlC.

TiCT and other types of MXene nanosheets are an exciting new class of 2D materials. However, little has been reported on manipulating the shape of MXene nanosheets. Here, we demonstrate that flat TiCT nanosheets encapsulated within spray-dried droplets can be scrolled, bent, and folded into 3D crumpled structures. This morphological change was observed to be reversible upon rehydration.

Bendable, stretchable MXene multilayer coatings are deposited onto a wide variety of surfaces, rendering them conductive and responsive.

The rapidly growing fields of noncontact medical diagnosis, noninvasive epidermal sensing, and environmental monitoring bring forward the need for fast humidity sensors. However, achieving a rapid response to dynamic changes in humidity, such as for human respiration, is challenging. This is because the response can be limited by the diffusion of water, the sorption of water in the material, and the sensing method itself. Here, the water sorption and response mechanism for multilayer assemblies made from MXene nanosheets and polyelectrolytes for ultrafast humidity sensing are described. MXenes are a class of two-dimensional transition metal carbides (e.g., Ti 3 C 2 ) possessing hydrophilicity and metal-like conductivity. Herein we show that MXene/polyelectrolyte multilayer films prepared using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly exhibit response and recovery times exceeding those of most humidity sensors. Quartz crystal microbalance and ellipsometry support the mechanism that, upon changing humidity, water molecules intercalate into (or deintercalate from) the MXene/polyelectrolyte multilayer, resulting in an increase (or a decrease) in the thickness and sheet-to-sheet distance, which then changes the tunneling resistance between MXene sheets. The ultrafast response was further demonstrated by monitoring real-time human respiration using a portable microcontroller for wireless sensing.

groups (OH, O, F), n usually ranges from 1 to 3, and x reflects the number of terminal groups. [1-5] MXenes have drawn much attention for their potential use in energy storage, [1,6] sensing technology, [7,8] functional coatings, [9-11] plasmonics, [12] and catalytic applications [13-15] due to their high electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and surface charge. Most of those properties can be traced back to their metallic-like 2D structure and functional groups attached during the etching and delamination processes. [4,5,16-18] However, recent studies suggest that MXenes are prone to react with dissolved oxygen and water molecules, which results in the formation of transition metal oxides and carbon residues. [3,19,20] Initially, Zhang et al. claimed that MXene oxidizes due to the contact with dissolved oxygen in water. [20] However, Huang et al. and our group also demonstrated that water molecules, rather than oxygen molecules, play a critical role in MXene degradation. [21,22] MXenes were reported to oxidize and degrade more rapidly in water rather than in organic solvents, air, or polymer matrixes. [3,23] Zhang et al., Chae et al., and Habib et al. (our group) also found that temperature and humidity have an influence on MXene oxidation. [3,19,20] They proposed that low temperatures and low humidity can mitigate the oxidation of MXene nanosheets due to the slower reaction kinetics and reduced exposure to water molecules, respectively. In addition, MXene nanosheets that are single-to few-layered or have smaller lateral size oxidize faster than multilayered MXene clay particles or larger-size nanosheets. MXenes oxidize rapidly when exposed to oxidizers such as hydrogen peroxide or treated by flash-annealing at high temperatures. [24,25] In addition, elemental composition may influence the oxidation kinetics. [26] VahidMohammadi et al. and Huang et al. reported that M 2 XT x MXenes, such as V 2 CT x and Ti 2 CT x , oxidize and degrade much faster than the more common M 3 X 2 T x , such as Ti 3 C 2 T x. [21,27] Other aspects may also contribute to the oxidation of MXenes, such as the amount and types of terminal groups, etching conditions, ultraviolet exposure, and the number of defects on the MXene nanosheets.

Electrochemical exfoliation is a promising bulk method for producing graphene from graphite; in this method, an applied voltage drives ionic species to intercalate into graphite where they form gaseous species that expand and exfoliate individual graphene sheets. However, a number of obstacles have prevented this approach from becoming a feasible production route; the disintegration of the graphite electrode as the method progresses is the chief difficulty. Here we show that if graphite powders are contained and compressed within a permeable and expandable containment system, the graphite powders can be continuously intercalated, expanded, and exfoliated to produce graphene. Our data indicate both high yield (65%) and extraordinarily large lateral size (>30 μm) in the as-produced graphene. We also show that this process is scalable and that graphene yield efficiency depends solely on reactor geometry, graphite compression, and electrolyte transport.