Abstract:Since the first report regarding the successful fabrication of few‐layer transition metal carbides (known as MXenes) of 2011, their intrinsic properties, such as mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, are intensively studied. Though the hydrophilic nature of MXenes is widely reported and utilized to fabricate various functional materials, there is a lack of systematic study with respect to the science behind the wetting phenomena of MXene‐based materials. The goal of this manuscript is to provide som… Show more
“…In particular, the MXene surface is terminated by functional groups that are typically represented by Tx, and the hydrophilic nature of MXenes is attributed to the presence of hydroxyl (OH), oxygen (O), or fluorine (F) terminated surfaces. The interaction between the oxygen atoms of water molecules and the hydrophilic groups on the MXene surface would be promoted with an enhanced negative potential, resulting in superior hydrophilicity, [ 39 ] thereby being favorable to the perovskite nucleation and crystallization.…”
Despite inorganic CsPbI3−xBrx perovskite solar cells (PSCs) being promising in thermal stability, the perovskite degradation and severe nonradiative recombination at the interface hamper their further development. Herein, the typical MXene material, that is, Ti3C2Tx, is employed to be the buried interface prior to the perovskite absorber layer in the device, which multi‐functionalizes the as‐prepared electron‐transfer layers by means of both fascinating preferential crystallization of perovskite and/or accelerating the charge extraction with respect to an ideal energy‐level alignment and suppressed trap states. Accordingly, the power conversion efficiency of the modified PSC device is substantially enhanced by as high as 19.56% in comparison to their counterparts with only the pristine CsPbI3−xBrx active layer. More importantly, MXene modification is favorable to improve the wettability of perovskite precursor solution with enhanced grain size and crystallinity, thereby increasing the UV long‐term stability of solar cells. This work provides a new paradigm toward alleviating the severe nonradiative recombination at the interface in the device whilst enhancing the long‐term stability via the preferential crystallization process.
“…In particular, the MXene surface is terminated by functional groups that are typically represented by Tx, and the hydrophilic nature of MXenes is attributed to the presence of hydroxyl (OH), oxygen (O), or fluorine (F) terminated surfaces. The interaction between the oxygen atoms of water molecules and the hydrophilic groups on the MXene surface would be promoted with an enhanced negative potential, resulting in superior hydrophilicity, [ 39 ] thereby being favorable to the perovskite nucleation and crystallization.…”
Despite inorganic CsPbI3−xBrx perovskite solar cells (PSCs) being promising in thermal stability, the perovskite degradation and severe nonradiative recombination at the interface hamper their further development. Herein, the typical MXene material, that is, Ti3C2Tx, is employed to be the buried interface prior to the perovskite absorber layer in the device, which multi‐functionalizes the as‐prepared electron‐transfer layers by means of both fascinating preferential crystallization of perovskite and/or accelerating the charge extraction with respect to an ideal energy‐level alignment and suppressed trap states. Accordingly, the power conversion efficiency of the modified PSC device is substantially enhanced by as high as 19.56% in comparison to their counterparts with only the pristine CsPbI3−xBrx active layer. More importantly, MXene modification is favorable to improve the wettability of perovskite precursor solution with enhanced grain size and crystallinity, thereby increasing the UV long‐term stability of solar cells. This work provides a new paradigm toward alleviating the severe nonradiative recombination at the interface in the device whilst enhancing the long‐term stability via the preferential crystallization process.
“…Various factors, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and van der Waals forces, influence the wettability of the membrane surface. 58 MXene inherently possesses a hydrophilic surface enriched with hydrophilic groups, such as −OH and �O, which facilitate the rapid spreading of water droplets across the surface. Consequently, the surface of MX-CM appeared to be hydrophilic.…”
Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The wettability behavior of the surface is determined by the interaction of the liquid and solid phases. Various factors, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and van der Waals forces, influence the wettability of the membrane surface . MXene inherently possesses a hydrophilic surface enriched with hydrophilic groups, such as –OH and O, which facilitate the rapid spreading of water droplets across the surface.…”
MXene
is an incredibly promising two-dimensional material with
immense potential to serve as a high-performing separating or barrier
layer to develop advanced membranes. Despite the significant progress
made in MXene membranes, two major challenges still exist: (i) effectively
stacking MXene nanosheets into defect-free membranes and (ii) the
high fouling tendency of MXene-based membranes. To address these issues,
we employed sulfonated polydopamine (SPD), which simultaneously serves
as a binding agent to promote the compact assembling of Ti3C2T
x
MXenes (MX) nanosheets
and improves the antifouling properties of the resulting sulfonated
polydopamine-functionalized MX (SPDMX) membranes. The SPDMX membrane
was tested for challenging surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water separation
with an impressive efficiency of 98%. Moreover, an ultrahigh permeability
of 1620 LMH/bar was also achieved. The sulfonation of PD helps in
improving the antifouling characteristics of SPDMX by developing a
strong hydration layer and enhancing the oleophobicity of the membrane.
The underwater SPDMX membrane appeared superoleophobic with an oil
contact angle of 153°, whereas the ceramic membrane exhibited
an oil contact angle of 137°. The SPDMX membranes showed an improved
flux recovery (31%) compared to the nonsulfonated counterpart. This
work highlights the appropriate functionalization of MXene as a promising
approach to developing MXene membranes with high permeation flux and
better antifouling characteristics for oily wastewater treatment.
“…2 . Oxidation, surface groups, heterogeneity, synthesis methods, contaminants, and surface energies are just a number of important aspects with the wetting behavior of MXenes in composite settings [ 36 ]. Fig.…”
MXenes are a class of 2D nanomaterials with exceptional tailor-made properties such as mechano-ceramic nature, rich chemistry, and hydrophilicity, to name a few. However, one of the most challenging issues in any composite/hybrid system is the interfacial wetting. Having a superior integrity of a given composite system is a direct consequence of the proper wettability. While wetting is a fundamental feature, dictating many physical and chemical attributes, most of the common nanomaterials possesses poor affinity due to hydrophobic nature, making them hard to be easily dispersed in a given composite. Thanks to low contact angle, MXenes can offer themselves as an ideal candidate for manufacturing different nano-hybrid structures. Herein this review, it is aimed to particularly study the wettability of MXenes. In terms of the layout of the present study, MXenes are first briefly introduced, and then, the wettability phenomenon is discussed in detail. Upon reviewing the sporadic research efforts conducted to date, a particular attention is paid on the current challenges and research pitfalls to light up the future perspectives. It is strongly believed that taking the advantage of MXene’s rich hydrophilic surface may have a revolutionizing role in the fabrication of advanced materials with exceptional features.
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