Delamination of MXenes using bovine serum albumin

Delamination of two-dimensional materials is a requisite step for exploiting their unique properties. Herein, we report on the formation of stable colloidal solutions of Ti3C2 and Mo2Ti2C3 MXene nanosheets by the dispersion and electrostatic exfoliation of stacked multilayer MXenes in the presence of albumin. Delamination of multilayered MXenes into atomically thin nanosheets resulted in stable colloidal solutions with good stability due to the adsorption of albumin, which prevents re-aggregation of the few-layer nanosheets. Cascading centrifugation was used to produce monodisperse colloids. This study demonstrates a processing method that can be utilized to prepare MXenes for biomedical applications. Since protein adsorption onto nanomaterial surfaces plays a significant role in many fields, including medicine, biology, pharmaceuticals, and environmental engineering, albumin coated MXenes may find many applications.

Automated summary

This study reports on the formation of stable colloidal solutions of MXene nanosheets using a dispersing and electrostatic exfoliation method in the presence of albumin. The albumin-coated MXenes showed good stability and can find applications in various fields due to the significant role of protein adsorption onto nanomaterial surfaces.