Enhanced Adsorption Performance for Organic Materials by Electron Beam-Treated Ti3C2Tx MXene

Abstract

MXene is one of the most fascinating 2D materials owing to its great electrical properties and unique performance. Among various application areas, the performance of organic material adsorption has been highlighted with the growing interest in the biocompatible applications of MXene. Although previous research revealed that the huge surface area of this 2D nanomaterial could lead to superior organic material adsorption performance, surface functional groups were usually controlled by changing the pH, and the MXene was generally produced by HF etchant. In this study, a surface modification method of Ti3C2Tx MXene film was proposed to enhance organic material adsorption by irradiating the pulsed plasma electron beam (EB). Methylene blue (MB)-dispersed DI water was prepared, and pristine MXene was prepared at pH 7. The MB concentration was only reduced by 20% by pristine MXene. However, EB-treated MXene adsorbed about 75% of the MB within 20 min and over 90% within 80 min when the MXene film was ground to powder form. The results showed that the increased surface area and formation of hydrophilic functional groups successfully modified MB adsorption following EB irradiation under optimal processing conditions.