Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Shayan SeyedinORCiD
This is the final published version of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by American Chemical Society, 2020.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
The discovery of liquid crystalline (LC) phases in dispersions of two-dimensional (2D) materials has enabled the development of macroscopically aligned three-dimensional (3D) macrostructures. Here, we report the first experimental observation of self-assembled LC phases in aqueous Ti3C2Tx MXene inks without using LC additives, binders, or stabilizing agents. We show that the transition concentration from the isotropic to nematic phase is influenced by the aspect ratio of MXene flakes. The formation of the nematic LC phase makes it possible to produce fibers from MXenes using a wet-spinning method. By changing the Ti3C2Tx flake size in the ink formulation, coagulation bath, and spinning parameters, we control the morphology of the MXene fibers. The wet-spun Ti3C2Tx fibers show a high electrical conductivity of ∼7750 S cm–1, surpassing existing nanomaterial-based fibers. A high volumetric capacitance of ∼1265 F cm–3 makes Ti3C2Tx fibers promising for fiber-shaped supercapacitor devices. We also show that Ti3C2Tx fibers can be used as heaters. Notably, the nematic LC phase can be achieved in other MXenes (Mo2Ti2C3Tx and Ti2CTx) and in various organic solvents, suggesting the widespread LC behavior of MXene inks.
Author(s): Zhang J, Uzun S, Seyedin S, Lynch PA, Akuzum B, Wang Z, Qin S, Alhabeb M, Shuck CE, Lei W, Kumbur EC, Yang W, Wang X, Dion G, Razal JM, Gogotsi Y
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: ACS Central Science
Year: 2020
Volume: 6
Issue: 2
Pages: 254-265
Print publication date: 26/02/2020
Online publication date: 06/02/2020
Acceptance date: 16/01/2020
Date deposited: 08/07/2020
ISSN (electronic): 2374-7951
Publisher: American Chemical Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.9b01217
DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b01217
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric