Dispersions of Two-Dimensional Titanium Carbide MXene in Organic Solvents

Abstract

Two-dimensional titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene has attracted a great deal of attention in the research community and has already showed promise in numerous applications, but only its dispersions in aqueous solutions have previously been available. Here we show that Ti3C2Tx can be dispersed in many polar organic solvents, but the best dispersions were achieved in N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide, propylene carbonate, and ethanol. The dispersions were examined by measuring the concentration and absorbance spectra of MXene in organic solvents as well as correlating the concentration to solvent physical properties, such as surface tension, boiling point, and polarity index. Hildebrand and Hansen solubility parameters were additionally used to provide an initial understanding of how Ti3C2Tx MXene behaves in organic media and potentially develop quantitative correlations to select solvents and their combinations that can disperse Ti3C2Tx and other MXenes. Using this analysis, we have outlined a range of organic solvents, which can disperse Ti3C2Tx, expanding the opportunities for processing techniques, such as mixing MXenes with other nanomaterials or polymers to form composites, preparing inks for printing, and deposition requiring solution processable materials, allowing the use of Ti3C2Tx in a multitude of applications.