Vortex Fluidic Mediated Synthesis of TiO₂ Nanoparticle/MXene Composites

Abstract

Oxidation of MXene in a vortex fluidic device (VFD) operating under continuous flow results in exfoliation and fragmentation into nanoparticles of surface oxidised 2D material with further oxidation of the nanoparticles into anatase (TiO2). These MXene and anatase nanoparticles co‐assemble into stable micron sized spheres which are topologically smooth, decorating the surface of exfoliated MXene. The formation of this composite material in the dynamic thin film in the VFD was optimised by systematically exploring the operating parameters of the microfluidic platform, determined at 45° tilt angle for the 20 mm diameter glass tube spinning at 5k rpm, with a flow rate of a colloidal dispersion of MXene in aqueous H2O2 (30%) at 0.75 mL/min at a concentration of MXene of 0.5 mg/mL.

Vortex-Fluidic-Mediated Fabrication of Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membranes Incorporating Graphene Oxide

“…It has a much larger diameter tube, 50 mm compared to 20 mm diameter for the standard VFD, and has a ∼10 fold increase in volume for each operation, without compromising on energy consumption. 43 The VFD has a number of applications in different fields, such as exfoliating 2D materials, 44,45 controlling chemical reactivity and selectivity, 46 breaking down polyethylenamines, 47 pharmaceutical processing, 48,49 fabricating composite nanomaterials, 50,51 and the growth of nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes, 50 as well as controlling the pore size of mesoporous silica. 52 VFD processing has a number of varied advantages including scalability of processing, ease of use as a plug-andplay device, and a fast and cost-effective processing, and is gaining attention within different fields in terms of extending its applications.…”

“…The VFD has a number of applications in different fields, such as exfoliating 2D materials, , controlling chemical reactivity and selectivity, breaking down polyethylenamines, pharmaceutical processing, , fabricating composite nanomaterials, , and the growth of nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes, as well as controlling the pore size of mesoporous silica . VFD processing has a number of varied advantages including scalability of processing, ease of use as a plug-and-play device, and a fast and cost-effective processing, and is gaining attention within different fields in terms of extending its applications. ,,, Chen et al have used the high shear mechanical energy in the VFD to exfoliate graphene from graphite with minimal damage to the 2D material.…”

In-situ continuous hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles on conductive N-doped MXene nanosheets for binder-free Li-ion battery anodes

“…Relatively sharp diffraction peaks of crystalline TiO 2 were observed at 2 theta = 25.3°, 37.2°, 47.8° and 54.1°, which corresponds to the (101), ( 004), (200), and (105) peaks of anatase TiO 2 (JCPDS card no. 21-1271) [40,44,48]. The intensity of these peaks (especially 101 peaks) can be observed to increase as temperature increases from 350 °C to 450 °C, indicating more TiO 2 being formed.…”

High shear spheroidal topological fluid flow induced coating of polystyrene beads with C60 spicules

“…11,12 The present work is also of importance in further developing the utility of the VFD noting that it has a growing number and diversity of applications, including in controlling chemical reactivity and selectivity, protein folding, enhancing enzymatic reactions and separating proteins, [13][14][15] and in materials processing. VFD-mediated material processing, beyond the above, include exfoliation of graphene from graphite and the manipulation of other 2D materials, 10,16 creating toroidal structures of self-assembled single walled carbon nanotubes, 17,18 and slicing single and multi-walled carbon tubes. 19 In systematically exploring the operating parameters of the VFD while taking into account the fluid dynamic response of toluene in the VFD, as defined by its signature, 7 we were able to coat spicules of C 60 ca.…”

“…The diameter of the tube in the VFD can be varied and this processing option has been used in materials processing. 7,16 In testing the effect of the choice of diameter on the nature of the product herein, we explored the possibility of coating polystyrene beads in a 10 mm OD tube. This is the original diameter of the tube used in developing the VFD.…”