In Situ N-Doped Graphene and Mo Nanoribbon Formation from Mo2 Ti2 C3 MXene Monolayers

Rafael Gregorio Mendes; Huy Quang Ta; Xiaoqin Yang; Wei Li; Alicja Bachmatiuk; Jin-Ho Choi; Thomas Gemming; Babak Anasori; Liu Lijun; Lei Fu; Zhongfan Liu; Mark Hermann Rümmeli

doi:10.1002/smll.201907115

In Situ N-Doped Graphene and Mo Nanoribbon Formation from Mo₂ Ti₂ C₃ MXene Monolayers

Small. 2020 Feb;16(5):e1907115. doi: 10.1002/smll.201907115. Epub 2020 Jan 14.

Authors

Rafael Gregorio Mendes^{1

2

3}, Huy Quang Ta^{1

2

3}, Xiaoqin Yang^{1

2

4}, Wei Li^{1

2}, Alicja Bachmatiuk^{1

2

3

5

6}, Jin-Ho Choi^{1

2}, Thomas Gemming³, Babak Anasori^{7

8}, Liu Lijun⁴, Lei Fu⁹, Zhongfan Liu¹⁰, Mark Hermann Rümmeli^{1

2

3

6

11}

Affiliations

¹ Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China.
² Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China.
³ Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, Dresden, D-01171, Germany.
⁴ School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 28, Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China.
⁵ Polish Center for Technology Development (PORT), Ul. Stabłowicka 147, Wrocław, 54-066, Poland.
⁶ Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 34, Zabrze, 41-819, Poland.
⁷ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and A. J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
⁸ Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering and Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
⁹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
¹⁰ Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Centre for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
¹¹ Institute of Environmental Technology, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 15, Ostrava, 708 33, Czech Republic.

PMID: 31943829
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201907115

Abstract

Since the advent of monolayered 2D transition metal carbide and nitrides (MXenes) in 2011, the number of different monolayer systems and the study thereof have been on the rise. Mo₂ Ti₂ C₃ is one of the least studied MXenes and new insights to this material are of value to the field. Here, the stability of Mo₂ Ti₂ C₃ under electron irradiation is investigated. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is used to study the structural and elemental changes in situ. It is found that Mo₂ Ti₂ C₃ is reasonably stable for the first 2 min of irradiation. However, structural changes occur thereafter, which trigger increasingly rapid and significant rearrangement. This results in the formation of pores and two new nanomaterials, namely, N-doped graphene membranes and Mo nanoribbons. The study provides insight into the stability of Mo₂ Ti₂ C₃ monolayers against electron irradiation, which will allow for reliable future study of the material using TEM. Furthermore, these findings will facilitate further research in the rapidly growing field of electron beam driven chemistry and engineering of nanomaterials.

Keywords: Mo nanoribbons; Mo2Ti2C3; N-doped graphene; electron driven chemistry; ordered double-transition metal MXenes.

Abstract

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