Facile preparation of MXene/BP nanocomposite films with high thermal conductivity and excellent flame retardancy

Abstract

Black phoshrene (BP) nanosheets can compensate each other between the MXene layers, thus preventing the agglomeration of MXene, and forming a more compact microstructure. This study successfully synthesizes f-MXenes non-covalently modified by the strong electrolyte PHMB. A series of MXene/BP nanocomposite films are prepared through the strong electrostatic interaction between f-MXenes and BP nanosheets and verified by FTIR, XRD, and XPS. Cross-sectional SEM imaging further reveals the formation of densely ordered aligned microstructures. Owing to the compensation effect of BP nanosheets between f-MXene layers, more efficient thermal conductivity pathways are constructed. At a low amount (5 wt%) of BP, the in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of the 5-M/BP film increased to 12.71 and 0.37 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, respectively. TGA and MCC results demonstrate that the flexible 5-M/BP film exhibited an ultra-low total release rate (5.8 kJ g⁻¹) and excellent thermal stability (66.74 wt% residual carbon). Considering their improved thermal conductive performance, the 5-M/BP nanocomposite film can be the most promising candidate for thermal management applications.