Issue 24, 2023

Plasmon assisted Ti3C2Tx grafting and surface termination tuning for enhancement of flake stability and humidity sensing performance

Abstract

Humidity sensors play a critical role in monitoring human activities, environmental health, food processing and storage, and many other fields. Recently, some 2D materials, particularly MXenes, have been considered as promising candidates for creating humidity sensors because of their high surface area, surface-to-bulk ratio, and excellent conductivity, arising from the high concentration and mobility of free electrons. In this work, we propose the plasmon-assisted surface modification and termination tuning of common MXene (Ti3C2Tx) to enhance their response to humidity and increase their stability against oxidation. Hydrophobic (–C6H4–CF3) and hydrophilic (–C6H4–COOH) chemical moieties were covalently grafted to the Ti3C2Tx surface using plasmon-mediated diazonium chemistry. In situ Grazing-Incidence Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (GIWAXS) measurements, performed at different humidity levels indicate that surface modification significantly affects penetration of water molecules in Ti3C2Tx films. As a result, the sensitivity of the flakes to the presence of water molecules was significantly altered. Additionally, proposed surface grafting commonly proceeds on the less stable MXene surface sites, where flake oxidation commonly initiates. As a result of the modification, such “weak” and more chemically active sites were blocked and Ti3C2Tx stability was significantly enhanced.

Graphical abstract: Plasmon assisted Ti3C2Tx grafting and surface termination tuning for enhancement of flake stability and humidity sensing performance

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 jun 2023
Accepted
19 sep 2023
First published
19 sep 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2023,5, 6837-6846

Plasmon assisted Ti3C2Tx grafting and surface termination tuning for enhancement of flake stability and humidity sensing performance

V. Buravets, A. Olshtrem, V. Burtsev, O. Gorin, S. Chertopalov, A. Chumakov, M. Schwartzkopf, J. Lancok, V. Svorcik, O. Lyutakov and E. Miliutina, Nanoscale Adv., 2023, 5, 6837 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00429E

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