(562g) Structure-Property Relation of Ti3C2 Mxene/Polyelectrolyte Hybrid Films

Hydrophilic Ti₃C₂T_x MXene (T = OH, O, F) is a metal carbide with excellent performance in electrochemistry and environmental protection. The metal core of the MXene nanosheet allows for its excellent electrical conductivity, and the abundant dissociated acidic groups facilitate the complexation of MXene with other materials. These features can be applied to designing MXene-based assemblies with controllable morphologies and electrical conductivities. In this work, the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged MXene nanosheets and positively charged polyelectrolytes is successfully utilized to design integrated MXene/polyelectrolyte hybrid films with distinguished internal morphologies. We show that tuning the physical interaction of MXene/polyelectrolyte controls the morphology and significantly enhances the chemical stability of MXene. Our results also show that the molecular and physical characteristics of the polyelectrolyte, such as molecular weight and concentration and the size of MXene nanosheets, determine the porosity and electrical conduction of the hybrid films. Moreover, based on detailed studies on the relation between the MXene crystalline orders and the electron conduction in the hybrid films, we propose the optimum structure through which the electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding of the hybrid is maximized.