Elastic properties of 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene monolayers and bilayers

Authors

Alexey Lipatov, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Haidong Lu, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Mohamed H. Alhabeb, Drexel UniversityFollow
Babak Anasori, Drexel UniversityFollow
Alexei Gruverman, University of Nebraska at LincolnFollow
Yury Gogotsi, Drexel UniversityFollow
Alexander Sinitskii, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

Sci. Adv. 2018;4: eaat0491

Comments

Copyright © 2018 The Authors

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides, known as MXenes, are a large class of materials that are finding numerous applications ranging from energy storage and electromagnetic interference shielding to water purification and antibacterial coatings. Yet, despite the fact thatmore than 20 different MXenes have been synthesized, the mechanical properties of a MXene monolayer have not been experimentally studied. We measured the elastic properties of monolayers and bilayers of the most important MXene material to date, Ti₃C₂T_x (T_x stands for surface termination).We developed amethod for preparingwell-strainedmembranes of Ti₃C₂T_x monolayers and bilayers, and performed their nanoindentation with the tip of an atomic force microscope to record the force-displacement curves. The effective Young’s modulus of a single layer of Ti₃C₂T_x was found to be 0.33 ± 0.03 TPa, which is the highest among the mean values reported in nanoindentation experiments for other solution-processed 2D materials, including graphene oxide. This work opens a pathway for investigating the mechanical properties of monolayers and bilayers of other MXenes and extends the already broad range of MXenes’ applications to structural composites, protective coatings, nanoresonators, and membranes that require materials with exceptional mechanical properties.