Development of two-dimensional MXene nanosheet-based electrodes via screen printing for low-frequency antenna applications

Abstract

In this study, an omnidirectional low-frequency monopole patch antenna was fabricated using MXene nanosheets and screen-printing technology. Ti₃C₂T_x MXene was synthesized by selectively etching Al from Ti₃AlC₂ MAX using hydrofluoric acid, followed by exfoliation to obtain nanosheets. A conductive MXene nanosheet-based paste was screen-printed onto a flexible substrate, forming high-resolution electrode patterns. The resulting electrodes exhibited a low surface resistance of 10² Ω sq⁻¹ and maintained stability for over six months. The fabricated antenna demonstrated a mean frequency of 1.5 GHz, a low return loss of −21.90 dB, and a radiation efficiency of 30.33%. Furthermore, the screen-printing process enabled flexible electrode dimension adjustment, allowing effective mean frequency tuning. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of MXene nanosheet-based antennas for low-frequency RF applications, including next-generation wireless communication technologies.