【Research Background】                       

Thanks to its excellent electrochemical and optoelectronic properties, MXene materials have been widely used in adsorption, nonlinear optics, energy storage, conductive electrodes, field effect tubes, and biomedicine, all of which have demonstrated outstanding performance. In addition, the large specific surface area and abundant surface functional groups have promoted the efficient adsorption of MXenes to various molecules and ions, and its application fields have therefore been extended to ion sieve, catalysis and sensors. However, MXenes also has many defects, such as: heavy stacking, low stability in oxygen environment, etc., which further hinders the development of MXenes. Up to now, MXenes materials have been successfully compounded with many different types of materials, such as metals, carbon nanotubes, high-quality graphene, metal sulfides, and high molecular polymers. Among them, high-molecular polymers have become one of the ideal choices due to their low cost, ease of synthesis and controllable functional groups. Recently, Professor Han Zhang of Shenzhen University published a review article titled MXene / Polymer Membranes: Synthesis, Properties, and Emerging Applications in the internationally renowned academic journal Chemistry of Materials . The review first discussed the synthesis method and performance of 2D MXenes, which can be used as The precursor of MXene / Polymer composite membrane. Secondly, the assembly strategy and performance of MXene / Polymer composite membrane are summarized. In addition, it also summarizes the applications of MXene / Polymer composite membranes, such as filtration, electromagnetic shielding, supercapacitors, sensors and so on. Finally, the future research direction and challenges of MXene / Polymer composite membrane are prospected.

【Graphic introduction】

Figure 1.  Summary of MXene / Polymer composite membrane synthesis methods and potential applications.

Figure 2.  MXenes obtained by MAX phase etching.

Figure 3.  MXenes obtained by non-MAX phase etching.

Figure 4.  The crystal structure of 2D MXene.

Figure 5. Simulation of mechanical properties of different types of MXene through density functional theory.

Figure 6.  Ti 3 C 2 oxidation method.

Figure 7. Synthesis of  V 2 C @ PDMAEMA composite membrane.

FIG. 8. The of Ti . 3 C 2 @ the PDAC, of Ti . 3 C 2 @ of PDDA, of Ti . 3 C 2 @ the PVA, of Ti . 3 C 2 @ of PANI, of Ti . 3 C 2 synthesis @CA composite membrane.

Figure 9. Synthesis process of Ti 3 C 2 @PAM composite membrane, Ti 3 C 2 @ PAN / PEI composite membrane and f-BNNS-Ti 3 C 2 @PBI composite membrane. 

Figure 10.  Synthesis process of Ti 3 C 2 @TPU composite membrane.

Figure 11.  Ti 3 C 2 @PDAC composite membrane, Ti 3 C 2 @PVA composite membrane Ti 3 C 2 @PPy composite membrane synthesis process

Figure 12.  Ti 3 C 2 @PEI composite membrane is used in gas sensors.

Figure 13. Application of  Ti 3 C 2 @PDAC composite film on the sensor.

【Summary and Outlook】

      In the past five years, researchers have made rapid progress in researching MXene / Polymer composite membranes because of their synergistic advantages with MXene and polymer. Generally speaking, the mechanical, thermal and electronic properties of macromolecule polymers can improve the stability of MXene sheets in composite films, but some other properties need to be studied urgently. Obviously, the performance of MXene / Polymer composite membrane has a great relationship with the distribution of MXene nanosheets. According to reports, in the process of synthesizing MXene / Polymer composite membranes, MXene may produce aggregation, which in turn produces multi-scale phase separation. Therefore, the research focus needs to be focused on improving the dispersibility of MXene nanosheets in the polymer matrix. This can be achieved through proper functionalization of the polymer chains to achieve enhanced contact between MXene nanosheets and polymers.

Literature link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b04408

Source: MXene Frontier