Synthesis of glucose‐derived MAX phases and investigation on the phase evolution behavior

Abstract

The family of MAX phases and their two‐dimensional derivative MXenes attract significant attention due to their unparalleled properties. Synthesis of MAX phases and MXene from biomass sources is important to expand their biology‐related applications, while it remains a challenge. The present work explores the possibility to synthesize MAX phases and subsequently derive MXenes by using biomass precursor. Ti3AlC2 MAX phase was synthesized by using glucose as the carbon source in molten salt. The conversion behavior from glucose to Ti3AlC2 was investigated, and the conversion rate of carbon from glucose reached to 70.4% by optimizing the reaction conditions. The as‐obtained Ti3AlC2 can be derived into Ti3C2Tx MXene and MXene quantum dots by common chemical treatments, which provides possibility for biomass‐derived nanolaminates applying in biological applications such as biological catalysis, bioinstrumentation, and biological tracking.