Journal article
The fabrication of TiC and TiCN MXenes by electrochemical etching
Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability, v 12(37), pp 25165-25175
24 Sep 2024
Abstract
2D MXenes are well-known for their outstanding performance in electrochemical energy storage and many other applications owing to their high conductivity and specific surface area. An obstacle to the wider synthesis of MXenes for research and industrial applications is the use of hazardous hydrofluoric acid (HF) during their synthesis. Herein, we developed the electrochemical etching process for the synthesis of Ti
3
C
2
and Ti
3
CN MXenes by using aqueous tetrafluoroboric acid as the electrolyte, thus only involving a very low concentration of HF. The effect of electrical potential and temperature on the etching rate is studied and compared to chemical etching with HBF
4
. A mechanism based on the selective anodic dissolution of aluminium from Ti
3
AlC
2
and Ti
3
AlCN with the tetrafluoroborate ion is proposed. The MXene formation was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The MXene flakes from the electrochemical etching process have larger lateral dimensions compared to chemically etched MXene flakes as a result of the suppression of the HF decomposition and rapid etching rate. The electrodes of lithium-ion supercapacitors made from electrochemically etched Ti
3
C
2
and Ti
3
CN exhibited cycle performance and rate capabilities comparable to HF-etched MXenes.
Ti
3
C
2
and Ti
3
CN MXenes were exfoliated from their corresponding MAX phases by electrochemical etching using HBF
4
as the electrolyte. The performance of electrochemically etched MXene as electrodes for Li-ion supercapacitors was studied.
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Details
- Title
- The fabrication of TiC and TiCN MXenes by electrochemical etching
- Creators
- Kai Chio Chan - Henry Royce InstituteXiang Guan - Henry Royce InstituteTeng Zhang - Drexel UniversityKailing Lin - Henry Royce InstituteYihe Huang - University of ManchesterLingshu Lei - Henry Royce InstituteYiannis Georgantas - Henry Royce InstituteYury Gogotsi - Drexel UniversityMark A Bissett - Henry Royce InstituteIan A Kinloch - Henry Royce Institute
- Publication Details
- Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability, v 12(37), pp 25165-25175
- Publisher
- ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- Graphene Nownano Centre for Doctoral Training program of the University of ManchesterUK GovernmentEPSRC: EP/P025021/1 Royal Academy of Engineering, Morgan Advanced MaterialsEuropean Union: 881603 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): DE-SC0018618 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): DE-SC0018618
This work was supported by the Graphene Nownano Centre for Doctoral Training program of the University of Manchester and the Turing Scheme offered by the UK Government. We acknowledge the technical support provided by the XRD Facility and Henry Royce Institute at the University of Manchester for the XPS analysis (funded by EPSRC, grant agreement EP/P025021/1). We also acknowledge the Royal Academy of Engineering, Morgan Advanced Materials and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under grant agreement no. 881603. The work at Drexel University was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, grant no. DE-SC0018618.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering; A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001298912300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85202154438
- Other Identifier
- 991022005077004721
InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Physical
- Energy & Fuels
- Materials Science, Multidisciplinary