Journal article
Synthesis of Chlorine‐Terminated MXenes by Dry Selective Extraction with TiCl 4
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, v 65(3), e15780
16 Jan 2026
PMID: 41277133
Abstract
Despite rapid research progress in the field of MXenes over the past decade, this new family of nanomaterials still faces challenges in terms of scalable manufacturing and control over surface chemistry, which determines many of their physicochemical properties. This work demonstrates titanium tetrachloride (TiCl 4 ) as a new type of gas‐phase etchant for the dry selective extraction of the A‐element (Al) from MAX phases, providing MXenes with uniform chlorine surface terminations. Our approach eliminates the need for extensive washing, which is required in the cases of wet‐chemical and molten salt etching. Computational data suggest that TiCl 4 reacts with the MAX phases directly to extract AlCl 3 rather than forming any intermediate phases. One of the resulting MXenes, Ti 3 C 2 Cl 2 , was then delaminated into few‐layer flakes by intercalating lithium ions from an organic solvent. Some of the hydrophobic delaminated flakes were discovered to roll into a tubular shape, forming 1‐dimensional nanoscrolls. Our dry etching process provides opportunities for the scalable synthesis of halogen‐terminated Ti‐ and Nb‐based MXenes with two to four M‐element layers and controlled surface chemistry.
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Details
- Title
- Synthesis of Chlorine‐Terminated MXenes by Dry Selective Extraction with TiCl 4
- Creators
- Benjamin Davis - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteDmitri LaBelle - Drexel University, Materials Science and EngineeringHyunho Kim - Drexel University, Materials Science and EngineeringTeng Zhang - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteTetiana Parker - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteStefano Ippolito - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteKateryna Shevchuk - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteJongyoun Kim - Drexel University, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials InstituteGeetha Valurouthu - Department of Materials Science and Engineering Drexel University Philadelphia PA 19104 USA, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute Drexel University Philadelphia PA 19104 USAYong‐Jie Hu - Drexel University, Materials Science and EngineeringYury Gogotsi - Drexel University, Materials Science and Engineering
- Publication Details
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition, v 65(3), e15780
- Publisher
- WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- Air Force Research Laboratory: FA2394-23-C-B022 National Science Foundation: DMR-2334275
The authors thank Ervin Rems for helpful conversations and guidance on computational studies, Fiona Abraham for help with material synthesis, Deniz Cakir for assistance with the delamination process, and Amanda Sfeir for advice on XPS data analysis. This work was supported by the US Air Force Research Laboratory under Federal Award FA2394-23-C-B022 via subaward to Ballydel. Dmitri Labelle and Yong-Jie Hu acknowledge support from the US National Science Foundation under award DMR-2334275. The computational support from the Drexel University Computing Research Facility is greatly acknowledged. A part of first-principles calculations was carried out using the Bridges2 Cluster at PSC through allocation MAT220033 from the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program, which was funded by the US National Science Foundation Grants #2138259, #2138286, #2138307,#2137603, and #2138296.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering; Chemical and Biological Engineering; A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001620488800001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105022756292
- Other Identifier
- 991022133585004721
InCites Highlights
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- Web of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Multidisciplinary