Facile synthesis of Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets using aryl diazonium tetrafluoroborate for multiple applications

Abstract

The development of an HF-free and environmentally benign method for etching the middle aluminum layer (Al) from the Ti3AlC2-MAX phase is a challenging task in titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene synthesis. Herein, we designed a diazonium salt-based ultrasonic method to prepare MXene. We have explored 4-carboxy benzene diazonium tetrafluoroborate (4-CBDF) as a delaminating agent, which can dissolve the Al layer directly from the MAX phase. 4-carboxy benzene diazonium (4-CBD+) ion promotes the intercalation as well as exfoliation simultaneously during the etching of the MAX phase and directly results in Ti3C2Txnanosheets without undergoing any additional delamination process. Synthesized MXene nanosheets show excellent photothermal performance with a conversion efficiency of 59 %. This MXene-coated GC electrode exhibits the highest capacitance of 1133 F/g at a current density 1 A/g, which maintains a retention capacitance of 91% even after 10,000 GCD cycles. The present method provides a fundamental insight into the development of MXene-based next-generation photothermal materials and supercapacitors.