Mohili Ranjit D, Mahabari Kajal, Patel Monika, Hemanth N R, Jadhav Arvind H, Lee Kwangyeol, Chaudhari Nitin
Advanced Hybrid Nanomaterial Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, School of Energy Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382426, Gujarat, India.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States of America.
Nanotechnology. 2025 Jan 10;36(10). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ada1de.
MXenes [two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides] are gaining significant interest as alternative electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction due to their excellent properties such as high electrical conductivity, large surface area and chemical stability. MXenes are traditionally synthesized using hydrofluoric acid (HF), which raises safety and environmental concerns due to its highly corrosive and toxic nature. HF introduces fluoride functional groups on the surface of MXenes, and these have been reported to have a detrimental effect on electrocatalysis. As a result, there is growing interest in developing MXenes through non-fluoride routes. Here, we report room-temperature, HF-free, wet-chemical synthesis of MXene using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and chromium chloride. The newly prepared CH-MXenes possess hydrophilic functionalities (-Cl, -OH and =O). Key advantages of the CH route over HF-based synthesis include the elimination of an additional delamination step, the prevention of MXene restacking via chloride functionalities and the consistent production of high-quality 2D MXenes with a reproducible flake size (∼650 nm). These CH-MXenes exhibit a high surface area, excellent conductivity and enhanced chemical stability, making them suitable for various energy and other applications.
MXenes（二维过渡金属碳化物、氮化物和碳氮化物）作为析氢反应的替代电催化剂正引起人们的极大兴趣，这归因于它们具有诸如高电导率、大表面积和化学稳定性等优异性能。传统上，MXenes是使用氢氟酸（HF）合成的，由于其具有高腐蚀性和毒性，这引发了安全和环境方面的担忧。HF在MXenes表面引入氟官能团，据报道这些官能团对电催化有不利影响。因此，通过无氟路线开发MXenes的兴趣日益浓厚。在此，我们报道了使用过氧化氢和氯化铬的混合物在室温下进行无HF的湿化学合成MXene。新制备的CH-MXenes具有亲水性官能团（-Cl、-OH和=O）。与基于HF的合成相比，CH路线的关键优势包括无需额外的剥离步骤、通过氯官能团防止MXene重新堆叠以及能够持续生产具有可重现片状尺寸（约650 nm）的高质量二维MXenes。这些CH-MXenes具有高表面积、优异的导电性和增强的化学稳定性，使其适用于各种能源及其他应用。
