Synthesis of a new graphene-like transition metal carbide by de-intercalating Ti3AlC2

A planar structure with both structure and potential application value like graphene was synthesized through the corrosion of layered Ti3AlC2 by magnetic stirring. As Al was continuously etched from Ti3AlC2, alternate Ti-C layers interleaving with Al layers were gradually separated from each other, which made the structure extend along c-axis. The corrosion direction was parallel to (0001) plane and the original Ti3AlC2 structure of the basal plane was retained after treatment in hydrofluoric acid. The graphene-like structure was obtained after treatment for 20 h. The exfoliated layer contained roughly seven single-layers. The morphology transition of the exfoliated products was systematically investigated and a possible formation mechanism of this two-dimension structure was proposed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.